100-meter hurdles national record equaled by Jyothi Yarraji: Jyothi Yarraji’s pursuit of perfection never ends. Though she is the only Indian to run the 100-meter hurdles in under 13 seconds, the 24-year-old believes there is still a great deal of room for growth.
She demonstrated her class once more at the Monet Grand Prix in Finland on Monday, matching her own national record with a time of 12.78 seconds, despite nearly slipping at the last hurdle. Even though the Andhra is expected to qualify for Paris by global rankings quota or direct qualifying in races in the near future, she was not happy with her performance since she missed the direct Olympic qualification threshold by just 0.1 seconds.
Jyothi remarks, “It was a really disappointing race.” Although it’s not what sportsmen typically say after setting a national record time, it’s likely what makes her unique.
Under coach James Hillier, Jyothi, who has competed in sub-13 races about two dozen times since last year, is currently training and competing across Europe. She flew into Tenerife, an island off the coast of Spain, where she spent three weeks practicing with a focus on her starts.
Jyothi made the decision to drastically alter her morning routine earlier this season, giving up a ten-year habit. She realized she was coming too near to the first hurdle after approaching it in eight steps earlier. “After talking with my coach, we decided to go at the first hurdle in seven strides rather than eight,” the woman said.
Change is difficult
Even the slightest adjustment in technique at this level takes a great deal of work, despite the fact that it may seem easy in principle.
Due to her weaker left leg being in front at the blocks, Jyothi would now need to start off on her right leg rather than her left due to the stride shortening. It would be like expecting someone who has spent their entire life using their right hand to eat to suddenly switch to their left. It is ingrained and difficult to break. The modification is already assisting me on hurdles three and four, despite how difficult it is,” the silver medallist from the Hangzhou Asian Games states.
Coach Hillier is happy with her ward’s development and believes that if she hadn’t missed the final obstacle, she could have easily recorded a 12.60-second time. However, Jyothi and her group are happy that she did not sustain any injuries.
It demonstrates her strength. She nearly fell off as she reached the last obstacle, but she managed to continue walking. The fact that she was not hurt makes us pleased, adds Hillier.
As Jyothi and Hillier continue their European training session, they sense that it is just a matter of time until the national record is disrupted once again. Although Jyothi has adjusted well to her training in Europe, she still finds it quite challenging in one particular area.
She speaks about eating with anguish in her voice, saying, “It’s so difficult.” “It is really difficult for me and I really miss home cooking.” We succeed in cooking, but it’s also a teaching moment. For me, this is the hardest part,” declares Jyothi, a self-described fan of biryani.
