Only 15 days after the qualification period for the Paris 2024 Olympics began, India's Sreeshankar Murali has confirmed his spot, and said his focus will now shift to ensuring optimal preparation for the Games.
Last year's Commonwealth Games silver medallist also emphasised the importance of the atmospheric conditions during the long jump, saying that his body reacts better to hot and humid conditions, like the one during the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok on Saturday [where he jumped 8.37m], and in Bhubaneswar last month during the Inter-State Athletics Championships [where he jumped 8.41m].
"Our first target was to get the Olympic qualifying mark," he said. "I felt very good at training last week at Switzerland, so dad [and coach Murali S] said that it's very much possible. When we checked the weather in Bangkok, we saw it would be hot and humid, so we knew it would be possible."
Now that he has achieved qualification, Sreeshankar said that he will start training for the Games from November onwards, after rest and recuperation following the Asian Games, which is scheduled to finish in the first week of October.
"I am very much relieved that I will open my 2024 season very, very late. I will open up maybe in May or June," he said.
"I need solid time for preparation for the Olympic games. It will be just one periodisation cycle, and I am really happy that I will only be opening up my season in May or June," he said.
QUALIFIED FOR PARIS OLYMPICS! ����Sreeshankar Murali's huge 8.37m leap in his final attempt won him ��at the 25th Asian Athletics Championships in Thailand. ����
��: Asian Athletics Championships 2023/YT#LongJump #AsianAthletics #CraftingVictories ���� pic.twitter.com/5PfHFG1RFM
- Inspire Institute of Sport (@IIS_Vijayanagar) July 15, 2023
His body being primed for hot and humid conditions
A couple of weeks ago, Sreeshankar struggled in a wet and windy Lausanne at the Diamond League, where he only managed fifth place with a best jump of 7.88m.
"Lausanne was very different, it was drizzling, there were headwinds, and it was cold," he said. "Even the European guys were wearing two big jackets and were freezing out there, so I knew that wouldn't be a day for big jumps."
Bangkok was the proverbial chalk to the cheese that was Lausanne.
"I am from Palakkad, a place where it's always very hot, nearly 40 degrees Celsius, so my body has adjusted very well in those conditions. I just had to correctly figure out my warmups here," he said.
Paris, in early August, when the Olympics are scheduled to be held - has had searing temperatures over the last couple of years [average of more than 30 degrees celsius], so those are conditions that Sreeshankar should feel at home in.
Adaptation to conditions being key
What difference does the temperature make to long jumping, though?
Sreeshankar says the answer lies in the extent and duration of the warmups that need to be undertaken. At Bangkok, he said the focus was on hydration, and ensuring his warmups ensured he could sustain his energy over the two hours of the event. He said that sometimes in colder conditions, the extent of warmups can sap the energy out, which would mean not being able to focus full energy reserves on the latter jumps of a competition.
"I was never intimidated by the fact that I'm not jumping 8.40m in Europe or outside India, I know how big a role the weather conditions play," he said, while also saying that this season has taught him how to adapt to various conditions.
After his best jump outside India and the second-best jump of his career, Sreeshankar's confidence is at a place where it's never been before. He has two more big competitions outside India this year at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, and the World Championships in Budapest, but his eyes are already on the Olympics. Next year, with a whole chunk of non-competition months being set aside for training, the biggest stage of them all awaits the boy from Palakkad in Paris.