Top five long jumps by Indian athletes in 2022

The country saw some exceptional performances from the athletes at the big stage.

Indian Long Jump has seen an exponential rise for the past year with athletes winning medals at multi-sporting events like the Commonwealth Games. The competition among the country mates has also begun to rise up with Jeswin Aldrin, Murali Sreeshankar, and Anees Yahiya all performing to the best of their abilities. Anees Yahiya in particular crossed the 8.00m mark five times showing good consistency throughout the 2022 season. Although the 27-year-old athlete from Kerala didn’t win any major event the consistency showed should boost his performance going on to the 2023 season.

In this article let us look at the top 5 long-jump distances registered in 2022.

5. Jeswin Aldrin (8.20m) Indian Grand Prix, Thiruvanthapuram

The 20-year-old breached the 8.20m mark in the first competition of 2022 having started the year with a bang. Jeswin did not have much competition from his fellow competitors as Murali Sreeshankar was taking part in the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. This was the second competition Jeswin was taking part in with the previous being the Inter-University Championships. He finished the event in second place with a jump of 7.51m.

The Athletics Federation of India conducted six Indian Grand Prix events in 2022.

4. Murali Sreeshankar (8.23m) National Interstates Athletics Meet, Chennai

The National Interstates Athletics meet is one the most important competition held in India every year. This is the only event with the “B” category and the athletes participating here score maximum points. All the other events like the Indian Grand Prix and the Federation Cup are lower-category events that fetch minimum points even upon winning which doesn't affect the overall ranking as well.

Murali Sreeshankar won the competition comfortably registering 8.23m and did not have much competition from his counterparts. Jeswin Aldrin registered five foul jumps and the only legitimate jump too was below the 8.00m mark. Anees Yahiya won the silver medal with a jump of 8.15m.

3. Jeswin Aldrin (8.26m) National Federation Cup, Thenhipalam

Soon after winning the Indian Grand Prix I, Jeswin put up a career-best mark of 8.37m (+4.1m/s) but the wind speed was above the +2.0m/s mark (not considered a National Record). He did not lose hope either registering a jump of 8.26m in his next attempts claiming the number one spot and also qualifying for the World Athletic Championships. 

The 20-year-old did not have a good time after a good start to the season performing below par till the World Meet. He then participated in the foreign meets registering good jumps. Jeswin stood first in the Golden Fly series with a jump of 8.12m and stood fourth in the Spitzen event in Switzerland where top long jumpers took part. He then finished the season on a great note winning the gold medal at the National Games with a jump of 8.26m.

2. Murali Sreeshankar (8.31m) 12th International Jumping Meet, Greece

The 8.31m mark was the largest jump recorded by any long jumper in a foreign meet from India. Murali Sreeshankar with this jump won the gold medal at the 12th International Jumping meet. The field consisted of some quality athletes with Thobias Montler from Sweden winning the silver medal (8.27m) and Jules Pommery of France bagging the bronze medal (8.17m). Also, this competition was a World Continental Tour Bronze event (C category).

1. Murali Sreeshankar (8.36m) National Federation Cup, Thenhipalam 

Murali Sreesankar with a jump of 8.36m created a new National Record but could only claim the second spot with Jeswin registering an 8.37m jump. Both Sreeshankar and Jeswin were giving tough fight among themselves with both registering good results enabling them to qualify for the World Championships as well. Overall it was an excellent season for the 24-year-old who also won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, in Birmingham. Apart from this Sreeshankar also participated in the maiden Diamond league competition soon after winning the silver at the Commonwealth Games.