The goal of long jumper Murali Sreeshankar’s approach run to the take-off board is to establish rhythm. “The jump is all about proper rhythm,” he asserts. “You can see the type of rhythm with which Carl Lewis and Mike Powell run… It resembles motion poetry. One, two, three, and four are speeding and picking up speed gradually.
The 24-year-old Commonwealth Games silver medalist struggled to execute his strategy on Friday night in the Lausanne Diamond League.
His greatest jump came on his third attempt, measuring 7.88 metres. He came in fifth position. The circumstances weren’t good.
He jumped into a cold headwind, just like his rivals. According to Sreeshankar, it felt at least 14 degrees Celsius. I was forced to don two bulky jackets. I had a conversation with Miltiádis Tentóglou. He is an Olympic champion from Europe, and he mentioned how chilly it is. I was leaving Bhubaneswar, where it was 43 degrees. The differing environments were challenging to adapt to, adds Sreeshankar. He finished one centimetre short of the national record in the Inter-State Championships in Bhubaneswar with a personal best of 8.41 metres. It was a different story in Lausanne.
He wants a response, not an explanation. What should he do if similar circumstances arise at the World Championships in Budapest in August. He claims that the rhythm of his approach is crucial. At the Inspire Institute of Sports in Vijayanagar, recovery and training following a hamstring injury earlier in the year went off without a hitch. Fitness is unimportant.
“The field was pretty good, so this (Lausanne) was a terrific experience. Getting accustomed to the weather… During the World Championships, it will be useful to me. I felt a little defeated. Not because of the distance jumped. But because my rhythm was so strange, I was unable to get the emotion correct as I took off. Sreeshankar says, “I simply need to find the rhythm and I’ll get a decent jump. A long jump sin, one of his jumps was 50 cm behind the take-off board.
His approach run is 45 metres, which he completes in 19 steps, with the final 10 yards taking just.90 seconds. “The speed in the final 10 metres of the approach is crucial. I can take off at a very decent speed if I can complete the final 10 metres of the approach in under.90 seconds.
To speak with Kieth Herston about the ideal “approach strategy,” Sreeshankar and his father-coach Murali headed to Texas Tech University in Lubbock in April.
“Like I do, other athletes begin in a standing position. A few, including Tentóglou and (Thobias) Montler, skip a couple of times before beginning the approach. I’ve taken 19 steps. Some athletes take an even number of strides when standing. In this season, I’ve tried with both even and odd numbers of strides. We determined the ideal strategy and pace for me to pick up speed in the final 10 metres.
Only if he develops rhythm will the length and quantity of his steps during his approach help him land successfully in the sand pit.
“A long jumper needs a totally different kind of rhythm. Some people are good at running the 100 metres, but if you do the long jump with the same rhythm, you won’t be able to take off well.
Sreeshankar has entered events without a sense of rhythm before developing one. He uses the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham as an illustration. “I just found my rhythm in the final leaps of the CWG. Everything was missing in Lausanne.
Sreeshankar has increased his consistency of jumps of at least 8 metres since previous year. He has exceeded the 8-meter mark in four of the six contests this year. He achieved the goal in six of the nine competitions he competed in last year, including an 8.05 in the qualifying round and an 8.08 in the CWG final.
“Dad changed the training schedule. I don’t load too much or do any significant heavy lifting. After completing 8.20 in 2018, I turned my attention to building muscle. I changed my exercise regimen.
Strength and power are two distinct concepts. “How much you can lift with strength. Power is the rate at which you can raise the weight. Strength is undoubtedly crucial during the preparation stage. In the gym and on the track, we began to place more emphasis on exercises that required power. The shortest definition of power that I can give is greatest force in a short length of time.
He provides a real-world illustration of how it functions. “Say I used to perform quarter squats with 300 kg. However, if your lift is not going well (technique-wise), there is no purpose in going that heavy. Therefore, lifting 200 kg in a shorter amount of time was crucial. When performing a bench press at the gym, if you lift 100 kg slowly while lifting 70 kg quickly, the power output will be higher in the 70 kg lift.
Dr. Klaus Bartonietz, a biomechanics expert and the coach of javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won an Olympic gold medal, supported the father-son team’s unique workout concept.
“As Dr. Klaus and I were eating, I asked him which is more crucial: strength or power? He gave me a thorough lesson in physics on the significance of power. Power is essential for both a strong javelin throw and a strong long jump. He provided me with numerous illustrations of tractors and sports automobiles.
The next goal for Sreeshankar is to travel abroad and perform just as well as he does at home. “Our challenge is to duplicate the level of performance we exhibit in home tournaments in international competitions. Experience is gained via competition, travel, and living in and around Europe. Neeraj has mastered it, which sets him apart from the competition.
