How did Jeswin Aldrin qualify for Paris Olympics 2024?
Indian men’s long jumper Jeswin Aldrin made the cut for the Paris Olympics 2024 via the Road to Paris rankings after the World Athletics made reallocations in its rankings after a few qualified athletes suffered injuries and pulled out of the competition due to different undisclosed reasons.
At the end of the qualification period for the athletics events, Jeswin Aldrin didn’t meet the qualifying standard of 8.27m in the men’s long jump event and was ranked 33rd in the Road to Paris rankings. However, only the top 32 athletes were eligible to compete at the Summer Games.
Until then India had already secured a quota in men’s long jump with Murali Sreeshankar qualified with a jump of 8.37m at the Asian Athletics Championships 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand with a silver medal and a Paris 2024 quota.
However, Murali Sreeshankar suffered a knee injury and was ruled out of the Olympics, potentially opening the door for Aldrin, to move up the Road to Paris 2024 rankings. A total of 12 athletes directly earned the qualification after meeting the entry standard while 20 athletes made the cut via Road to Paris rankings.
How did Jeswin Aldrin fare in the 2024 season ahead of the Paris Olympics?
Hailing from Mudalur, Tamil Nadu, Jeswin Aldrin failed to touch the 8m mark this year. However, his personal best stands at 8.42m achieved at the Indian Open Jumps Competition 2023 in Bellary, Karnataka. He’s also the national record holder.
In March 2024, he finished in the disappointing 13th spot at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow with an effort of 7.69m. Subsequently, in May, he missed out on the 8m mark by 0.01m as he secured 7.99m at the Federation Cup, winning the gold medal.
In June, he finished at the fifth spot with a disappointing 7.65m effort at the Guadalajara Athletics Puma Meetin in Guadalajara, Spain. Later at the National Inter-State Championships in Panchkula, Haryana, he secured a silver medal with a jump of 7.75m.
His other major achievements include a gold medal at the CITIUS Meeting in 2003 and a silver medal at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in 2023.