E-Paper
Jeswin Aldrin chases consistency after breakout year
Set to open the season at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan later this week, the 21-year-old will look to log 8m-plus jumps with more regularity
It is easy to lose perspective if one is coming off a season as eventful as Jeswin Aldrin. A series of 8m plus jumps, logging the longest leap by an Indian, a maiden World Championships appearance, and emerging as the next big hope in long jump meant Aldrin ended 2022 as one of Indian athletics' high points. Regardless, the 21-year-old has his feet firmly on the ground.
"I'm happy with the way last year panned out and I'm very confident going into the new season. My journey has only just begun and I want to take it step by step," Aldrin said.
The athlete from Tamil Nadu will kick off his season with the Asian Indoor Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan from February 10 to 12. It'll be the first time he'll compete in an indoor event of any level.
"It'll be challenging because the wind, temperature, track everything changes in an indoor event. I'm sure it'll be a good learning curve," Aldrin said.
"It's an important year for me as there'll be World Championships as well as Olympics qualifiers. My primary targets will be to make up for my disappointing debut at Worlds last year and also make it to the Paris Olympics. Of course, there'll be the Asian Games where I want to win a medal for the country," he said.
Then, there is a longing from last year as well. "I want to own the national record too," he said. It's a wish he reiterated multiple times last year but his good friend Murali Sreeshankar had an edge over him. The only time Aldrin bested Sreeshankar — at the Federation Cup — the jump ended up being a wind-assisted one. That 8.37m leap remains the best effort by an Indian, but the national record still rests with Sreeshankar, who jumped 8.36 in the same competition.
"I think I have it in me to consistently jump around 8.20m. This year, I want to hit 8.40m and break the national record. Also, I don't want to register one good jump and taper off. My biggest objective will be to achieve consistency," Aldrin said.
The long jumper certainly can do with that. His 8.37m was followed by a four-month period where he couldn't hit the 8m mark in six straight competitions. His dip in form cost him a place in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) squad. At the Eugene World Championships, Aldrin failed to make the final, finishing ninth in qualifying with a best effort of 7.78m.
"I couldn't perform at the big events such as Worlds last year. That's an anomaly I would like to address. I want my best jumps to come in big finals. I am a wiser, more confident athlete now and I believe I'll be able to do well on the big stage."
That also means he ought to peak wisely in the long season. With less than 30 days separating the World Championships and Asian Games, Aldrin must peak in the second half of the year.
"As an athlete, you want to win everything, but we also need to pick and choose our events. It's not too different for me. My initial few competitions will be used as a tune-up for the bigger events. It's important to be in the best physical shape and technical rhythm in the big international meets," he said.
Aldrin made the cut for the Worlds with a jump of 8.26m at the National Games last October. He then spent the next month training on the beaches in Thiruvananthapuram before heading to the Inspire Institute of Sports (IIS) in Vijayanagar where he trains under Yoandris Betanzos.
Besides technical aspects, the former triple jumper — a two-time World Championships silver medallist — has been working on Aldrin's speed and strength.
Speaking about his ward's progress from last year, the Cuban said, "Jeswin has improved a lot over the past year. His average jumps went up by 24 cm, and with air in his favour, he jumped 40 cm above what he used to earlier. Technically, he is not bad but we are working on ways to utilise momentum," Betanzos said.
Aldrin agreed that he needs to sort out his 'dual landing' sooner than later. "Basically, my left leg trails on landing, which costs me some crucial centimetres. That's an area I am working on. Also, to improve my leg strength, I did a lot of weighted jumps on the sand in Thiruvananthapuram," he explained.
Physically, Aldrin's strength has gone up over the course of last year. While earlier he used to squat 230 kg, he now regularly squats 280 kg. "We are working on strengthening his core to give him explosive thrust, and also on his arm strength," the coach said.
Come Friday, all that backroom work will meet its first test in Astana.
