India's Anju Bobby George jumping in the Athens Olympics (© Getty Images)
Anju Bobby George, who won India’s first ever World Championship medal when finishing third in the Long Jump in Paris 2003 but who fell short of the podium at the Athens Olympics is confident of reaching seven metres next season.
27 year-old George who though disappointed by missing out on an Olympic medal had the satisfaction of setting a national record of 6.83m in the final (6th place) is confident that seven metres, the benchmark of truly great jumping will be within her capabilities next year.
“It was not a bad show there (Athens Olympic Games). It feels good when you set a new national record. But my dream was to finish in the medal bracket and that was not to be," confirmed George who was speaking in New Delhi at the weekend where she was attending the 13th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships.
"Anyway, there is no point talking about the past. I'm preparing for the next season, especially the World Championships in Helsinki.”
“I have been doing around the seven metre mark in practice this season. My aim will be to cross the mark in the next season,” concluded George.
George who was presented with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award last month has closed out her 2004 season in style in recent weeks. A fourth place finish at the World Athletics Final in Monaco (18 Sep) came thanks to a jump of 6.61, with an identical leap bringing her a notable win over Olympic champion Tatyana Lebedeva in Yokohama, Japan, on 23 September.
A final competition in Singapore at the Asian All Star event (28 Sep) also confirmed her winning form (6.66m).
George's wind legal personal best at the start of 2004 was 6.70, the distance which she had produced to take the World Championship bronze in 2003. She improved this PB by one centimetre at the Prefontaine meeting on 19 June but also had a wind aided 6.83 in the same competition, and an earlier assisted 6.82 when winning in Doha (14 May).
IAAF & agencies
