India's Jyothi Yarraji misses Paris Olympics qualifying mark by 0.01s, equals women's 100m hurdles National Record

Tejas Shirse also set a new national record of 13.41s in the men’s 110m hurdles.

Asian Games silver medalist Jyothi Yarraji clinched gold in the women’s 100m hurdles event at the Motonet GP Jyvaskyla athletics meet in Finland on 22 May, equalling her national record but narrowly missing the Paris 2024 Olympics qualifying standard by faint 0.01 seconds.

In her third outdoor competition of the season, Yarraji outpaced Jamaica’s Crystal Morrison (12.87s) and Lotta Harala (12.95s) of Finland to claim the top spot on the podium.

Yarraji’s winning time of 12.78 seconds also equalled her national record yet fell agonizingly short of the 12.77-second mark required for automatic qualification to the upcoming Paris Olympics. This marked the second instance where the Indian hurdler has narrowly missed the Olympic entry standard, having come up 0.01 seconds shy at last year’s World University Games in Chengdu.

ALSO READ: Jyothi Yarraji wins gold medal in 100m hurdles at Kurpfalz Gala in Germany, clocks 13.06s

Last month, Yarraji’s bid for Olympic qualification fell by one-tenth of a second during athletics meet in the Netherlands. The qualification window for the Paris 2024 Olympics closes on June 30, leaving a narrow window for athletes to secure their spots.

Meanwhile, in an impressive display, Tejas Shirse set a new national record of 13.41s in the men’s 110m hurdles at the Motonet GP in Finland, winning ahead of Finnish athletes Elmo Lakka and Santeri Kuusiniemi, but narrowly missing the 13.27s Paris 2024 Olympics qualifying standard, surpassing Siddhanth Thingalaya’s previous 13.48s mark from 2017.

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Mohammed Afsal also tasted victory in Finland, securing the men’s 800m title at 1:48.91.

In the men’s 100m event, 20-year-old Animesh Kujur secured a personal best of 10.39 seconds, finishing second. Kujur’s previous personal record of 10.50 seconds was set earlier this month at the Federation Cup 2024 Athletics.

Rounding out India’s performances, Pavana Nagaraj claimed fifth place in the women’s long jump with a best effort of 6.06 meters.

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