Aldrin beats Sreeshankar for long jump gold but his performance will not be counted for records

Jeswin Aldrin beat Tokyo Olympian M Sreeshankar of Kerala to the long jump gold with a huge wind-aided effort of 8.37m in a dramatic contest on the second day of Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships here on Sunday, but his performance will be of no consequence for record purposes. Aldrin cleared 8.37m in his second attempt but the tail wind speed measured on the wind gauge was + 4.1m/s, well above the legal limit of + 2m/s. He cannot be denied a gold but surely he will be denied the national record. Aldrin, however, qualified for the World Championships in Eugene, USA, in July on the basis of his legal jump of 8.26m in his fourth attempt. The World Championships qualification standard is 8.22m.

Sreeshankar, who jumped 8.36m in his third attempt with a valid wind speed of +1.5 m/s to win a silver, broke his own national record of 8.26m. The Kerala jumper also qualified for the World Championships. Sreeshankar's 8.36m jump is also the world leading effort though it is early season. "Jeswin Aldrin's 8.37m performance was not a legal one and so will not be counted for record purposes and for any qualification. But his 8.26m effort (in his fourth attempt) was legal and so he has also qualified for the World Championships," Indian athletics chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair told PTI. "Sreeshankar's 8.36m will be the new national record (if ratified) as it was a legal one, though he did not win a gold." The long jump final will go down in Indian athletics history as one of the best as nine jumps were over 8m, though two of them were wind-aided above legal limits. Another Kerala jumper Muhammed Anees Yahiya, already a member of 8m club, produced another wind-assisted (+2.3 m/s) 8.06m effort to win the bronze. It was no