Harry Schulting Games 2024: Jyothi Yarraji wins gold medal; misses Olympics qualifying mark by 0.10m
Star Indian hurdler and Asian Games 2023 silver medallist Jyothi Yarraji secured a gold medal in the women’s 100m hurdles in her outdoor season opener on May 9, Thursday at the Harry Schulting Games in Vught, the Netherlands.
Jyothi Yarraji was part of Heat 2, where she topped the eight-player list, clocking 13.04 seconds, making the cut for the final. She went on to clinch the gold medal, clocking 12.87 seconds in the final, achieving the fourth-best time of her career.
Notably, the Paris Olympics 2024 qualifying standard is set at 12.77 seconds, which means Jyothi missed out on the berth by 0.10 seconds. However, she is expected to compete in five more international tournaments in Europe in order to qualify for the Paris Olympics 2024.
Jyothi Yarraji is all set to secure her Paris Olympics 2024 berth via World Rankings
Nevertheless, Yarraji is currently ranked 26th in the Road to Paris Rankings List of World Athletics. If not a direct qualification, Jyothi is all set to secure her berth based on her rankings.
40 runners will take part in the women's 100m hurdles in the Paris Olympics 2024. 25 will be through qualifying standard and 15 will be through world rankings.
Interestingly, Yarraji also competed in the women's 100m heats, securing a timing of 11.79 for a fifth spot but did not start in the final. The qualifying standard for the Olympics in the women's 100m race is 11.07s.
Jyothi Yarraji’s national record stands at 12.78 seconds at the World University Games, Chengdu in 2023. Earlier this year, Yarraji won the gold medal in 60m hurdles at the Asian Indoor Championships in Tehran, Iran.
Another hurdler in action was Tejas Shirse, who also secured the gold medal in the men's 110m hurdles with his new personal best of 13.56 seconds. Regrettably, Tejas is ranked 66th in the Race to Paris rankings and he is unlikely to make it to the mega event in Paris.
Meanwhile, another Indian athlete Amlan Borgohain, India's national record holder in the men's 200m, was also expected to compete but did not start his event.