“As a child going to the Olympic Games was just a dream” - Jyothi Yarraji elated after securing Paris Olympics 2024 quota
India’s 100m hurdler Jyothi Yarraji took to Instagram to share her excitement after earning the Paris Olympics 2024 quota through the World Rankings route. She stated that as a child, going to the Olympics was always a dream, but she’s proud to have it become a reality now.
Notably, Yarraji, the Asian Athletics champion, became the first Indian 100m hurdler to qualify for the Summer Games after World Athletics published the list of athletes who qualified for Paris 2024 via the World Rankings route.
“I’m proud to announce that after winning the Indian Olympic Trials at the 63rd National Inter State Championships that I will be going to my first Olympic Games in the 100m Hurdles. As a child going to the Olympic Games was just a dream, now it has become a reality,” she wrote on Instagram.
“I focused solely on getting better every day” - Jyothi Yarraji
Jyothi Yarraji clocked 12.78 seconds at the Motonet GP Jyväskylä athletics meet in Finland in May, missing the automatic qualification mark (12.77 seconds) by one-hundredth of a second. Thus, she failed to earn the direct qualification.
However, Jyothi disclosed that during the race in Finland, she tore her quad muscle, which left her in terrible pain. This resulted in her not being able to walk for a few days. With Jyothi not giving up her Olympic dream, she returned to India to regain full fitness.
“However the path to this moment has not been easy and the last 5 weeks has challenged me like never before. On May 24th out of nowhere during a race in Finland I tore my quad muscle whilst hurdling. The pain was terrible and I couldn’t walk for a few days. However I wasn’t prepared to give up on my Olympic dream - I knew I needed to accept what had happened to me and focus on getting better,” she added.
“I returned back to India from Europe early and my coach, physio and S & C prepared a plan for me that had me in the gym 4-5 hours every day working on my strength, my movement and my fitness. I also spent many hours in my room doing extra rehab. I focused solely on getting better every day and I never lost faith in my team and being able to race at Inter State,” she wrote.
According to the World Rankings released by the World Athletics, Jyothi Yarraji is ranked at the 34th position. Importantly, a total of 40 athletes are set to take part in the 100m hurdle event in Paris.
Three days before the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in Panchkula, Haryana, Jyothi prepared hurdling for the first time in five weeks, and later in the event, she clocked 13.06 seconds, terming it the best race of her life.
She thanked the Reliance Foundation team, her S&C coach, physios, and AFI for supporting her during the tough phase of her life. She concluded her note by stating her eagerness to compete in Paris 2024.