'Too small a margin': How new long jump take-off system denied Murali Sreeshankar a Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medal

A new take-off board was used in the long jump event at the Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022) in Birmingham, which prevent Murali Sreeshankar from bagging a gold medal for India.

Murali Sreeshankar missed a gold medal in Birmingham by a whisker as the athlete was twice-flagged by World Athletics' new take-off board system for crossing the line and committing a four. So on Thursday at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022), two of Sreeshankar's jumps were adjudged as fouls by the new system, with the 23-year-old also surprised by the margin by which he was shown to have crossed the line, especially on his fourth attempt.

Sreeshankar Sreeshankar competes during the men's long jump final athletics event at the Alexander Stadium, in Birmingham on day seven of the Commonwealth Games. (AFP)

Earlier, the take-off board was controlled manually with an official sitting close to the board. The official had to raise a red or white flag to declare whether a jump was legal or not. Then World Athletics decided to introduce a digital take-off board recently, in which a laser beam acts as the take-off line. The system was first used at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March this year. Speaking to IANS, Adille Sumariwalla (AFI President), who is also a jury member in Birmingham said, "The laser beam is very sensitive and could be triggered by an athlete's foot overstepping by even a millimetre. It was introduced for the first time at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March this year and had caused an uproar as the participants were not happy with some of the narrow margins that were flagged as foul."

Meanwhile, Sreeshankar was also left stunned by the new system. After his event, he said, "I was very surprised by the narrow margin by which I was shown to have crossed the line. It was too small a magin".

The Indian long jumper's toe was a millimetre across the line and his jump would have been in the range of 8.30. His sixth jump was also deemed as illegal. He won the silver with a best jump of 8.08m and achieved it in his fifth attempt. Bahamas' Laquan Nairn won gold with a best jump of 8.08m, but his second best of 7.98 was better than Sreeshankar's 7.84m. Meanwhile, South Africa's Jovan van Vuuren took bronze with a jump of 8.06m.