World Athletics CEO talked of testing a larger take-off area to minimise fouls. Former Olympic champion Carl Lewis reckons it will eliminate the most difficult skill from the event
World Athletics trying out a take-off zone in place of the existing take-off board aimed at reducing fouls in long jump will kill the beauty of the sport and finish off its novelty, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Murali Sreeshankar said.
The purpose of the take off zone is to reduce the time wasted because of jumpers overstepping, World Athletics CEO Jon Ridgeon had said earlier this week.
“At the World Championships in Budapest last summer, a third of all the jumps were no-jumps, athletes stepping over the front of the take-off board,” Ridgeon said on the Anything But Footy podcast. “That doesn’t work, that’s a waste of time. So we’re testing, for example, a take-off zone rather than a take-off board, so we measure from where the athlete takes off to where they land in the pit. That means every single jump counts…” Ridgeon said.
Though the take off-zone would be an advantage to jumpers because they don’t have to worry about a foul as they now don’t have to get as close as possible to the take-off line (foul line), Sreeshankar said World Athletics was ‘questioning the skill’ of long jumpers.
“It will affect the beauty of the sport. It is also questioning the skill of athletes. Long jump is a technical event and our aim is to be precise on the take-off board. The purpose of this intervention is to make the sport more interesting to viewers but it is affecting the novelty of the sport. Long jump is all about taking off before a specific line, we have been doing this right from the time we have started training. Now you are telling me ‘you can jump from wherever within the zone and we will measure it’,” Sreeshankar told The Indian Express.
Retired American star Carl Lewis, with four gold medals from four Olympics in the bag, came out strongly against the proposed rule change.
“You’re supposed to wait until April 1st for April Fools jokes,” the American posted on X. “I guess it supports what I’ve been saying, that the long is the most difficult event in track and field. That would just eliminate the most difficult skill from the event. Just make the basket larger for free throws because so many people miss them.”
Unaddressed issue
Sreeshankar said there remains an unaddressed issue related to the take-off board — the material it is made out of makes it slippery and it can result in injuries.
The 24-year-old also cautioned administrators about the material used within the proposed take-off zone.
“One more clarification is needed. If they are making a take-off zone and if they are placing some sort of material in that and if it is going to be the same material used for the take-off board, then we will definitely slip. It is like in Tom and Jerry, Tom sets his foot on the banana peel and he falls head first, it will be just like that.”
He cites the example of Jamaica’s Carey McLeod who slipped when taking off and injured his ankle at the World Championships in Budapest last year.
“The issue is with the take-off board. Because of the material of the take-off board everyone was slipping. It was introduced after the 2021 Olympics and everyone has been criticising it. It is definitely not wood. We wanted the material of the take-off board to be changed,” Sreeshankar said.
An athlete who fouls is in danger of getting injured.
“If we foul we slip, if we are not fouling part of the foot will be on the synthetic surface, so chances of slipping will be less, but if it is entirely on the take off board we are going to slip. It is not making sense. Even Jeswin (Aldrin) slipped during the World Championships last year but luckily he didn’t get seriously injured,” Sreeshankar said.
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France’s Jules Pommery, the third-placed finisher at the European Championships, and a friend of Sreeshankar, has slipped ‘three-four times’ because of the board and injured his ankle, the Indian jumper claimed.
“It is the responsibility of the athlete not to foul. But for the safety of athletes it will be better if they change the material of the take-off board.”
Should the take-off zone be allowed only for multi-event disciplines?
Tejaswin Shankar, the high jumper and Asian Games silver-medal winner in the decathlon, posted on X. “Def not a fan of the new change in question for LJ but from a multi events standpoint (which is always neglected) definitely one less event to worry about!”
“Maybe for combined events athletes who have 10 events… they can get through their jumps without fouling,” Sreeshankar said, adding, “But I don’t think jumpers will agree to the change for the individual long jump.”
Source:indianexpress.com