‘Anju now knows that she is at par with the best’

Anju George, India’s long jump medal hope at the upcoming Olympics, may see a familiar face among the men’s competitors. The man w...

Anju George, India’s long jump medal hope at the upcoming Olympics, may see a familiar face among the men’s competitors. The man who jumped longer than any man in history and Anju’s consultant coach Mike Powell is game for a last hurrah at the Olympics.

The world record holder in men’s long jump (8.95n), is in town to participate in the Mumbai International Marathon. The man who shattered Bob Beamon’s 21-year-old record (8.90m) at the Tokyo World Championships in 1991 spent half an hour talking to the media on Friday, answering questions on topics ranging from his own career, the still-standing world record and of course, Anju Bobby George.

ON ANJU BOBBY GEORGE

• She is a fine talent. I think she now knows that she can compete with the best and is also very consistent. Anju can definitely jump seven metres. The difference between 6.70m and seven is not that big. I haven’t trained her since December and am scheduled to start training her next month according to our last discussion.

Story continues below this ad

I changed a few things with her initially. But I didn’t want to do too much technically at that stage. She is already being coached by Bobby George. Having a husband as a coach adds a totally different dimension.

ON COMEBACK PLANS

• I miss competitions. In the years that I have spent as a coach, I have realised that my technique is better now. I would like to take another shot at the Olympics now. I think I can do it. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t say so. I am going to try at the qualifiers (in July) to make the team for the Athens Olympics later this year.

ON THE 9.20M MARK

• At the peak of my career, I thought I could jump 9.20 metres. But then injuries set back and that figure never turned into reality.

ON FITNESS AND HEALTH

• Right now, I’m just trying to stay fit and healthy. I’ve not even started jumping yet. I’ve begun to sprint. If anybody can jump past 8.30m, he can make the team and also stands a chance to win a medal. The longest leap last year in the US was 8.32m.

ON CARL LEWIS

Story continues below this ad

• I owe my world record to Carl Lewis. I always had the talent, but it was Carl’s fierce competitiveness that brought out my potential.

In the World Championship at Tokyo in 1991, Lewis and Powell were involved the greatest duels ever. Lewis was the first to break Beamon’s record with a leap of 8.91m, but Powell came up with his still standing 8.95m mark.

ON TEACHING AND A WISH FULFILLED

• Before I took up athletics as career, I wanted to be a teacher. I currently coach around 30 athletes in a university in California. So in a way, I am now doing what I love doing. Besides teaching them to jump, I also try and teach them to be responsible and mature human beings.

Donald Trump may replace H-1B lottery with wage-based selection process

World7 hr ago

Days after hiking the fees for new H-1B applications to $100,000, the Donald Trump administration has proposed to overhaul the visa process for high-skilled non-immigrant workers. The Trump administration has suggested a wage-based selection process for the H-1B programme, instead of the current lottery system.

View all shorts

Live Blog