A 28 years old Baranica Elagovan from Tamil Nadu has set a new national record by making mark of 4.22 metres.
The girl hailing from Mayiladuthura in the erstwhile Thanjavur district achieved this new mark on March 24 at the 1st National Indoor Athletics Championships, Baranica was in a league of her own. Silver medalist Blessy Kunjumon’s ceiling was 3.95m and third-placed Mariya Jaison finished at a height of 3.80m.
After making her new record, minutes after that she told media “ “I was attempting to break it for the past three years. When the record for 4.15 metres I attempted it three times, when it became 4.21 I attempted it five times”.
The pole vaulter said had bagged the gold medal by clearing 4 metres but she was not fully spent. The cross bar was raised to 4.10m, which she sailed over so easily that 4.22m was set as the next height. By then, the rest of the competitors had packed their bags after calling it a day were retuning room mode for a rest. Using that God send opportunity blessing in a disguise, Baranica held her posture on the runway, planted the pole smoothly and cleared the record-breaking height amidst roaring cheers reverberated within the indoor stadium. The continuous standing ovation made the event more interesting. Soon after achieving a new record, with uncontrolled joy , the beaming pole vault sportswoman ran to her long-time coach Milber Russel, who has been with her through thick and thin to share joyous moments. She said “It was an emotional moment for us because we have been trying so hard for the past three years to break the national record”.
Earlier in March this year, at the Indian Open Jumps competition in Bengaluru Baranica became eligible for the Asian Games qualifying standard of 4.10 metres set by the Athletics Federation of India. Less than two weeks later, she became the national record holder. It shows her the amount hardwork, determination to achieve something despite her physical issues which she took it into her strides. Before Baranica’s feat on 24th , there was no official national indoor record for women’s pole vault as this is the inaugural national championships.
Her name will enter the Record Books soon, as with World Athletics recognising pole vault marks set in indoor or outdoor competitions as a unified one. It is a unique in this sport event. The 4.22m mark of Baranica will now be the national indoor as well as the overall record, and it will just be a formality for the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to ratify it. The officers of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) took samples from her for dope test after her event, a requirement for ratification of national records.
Setting new record was not an easy path of roses for Barnica. She had an ACL reconstructive surgery to her left leg six years ago. She had pain in her leg after the surgery for three years. She found the physio therapists who worked miracles at the Abhinav Bindra Targeting Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar. Beaming Barnica told media “The physios and the advanced machines at the centre were really helpful. Before moving to Bhubaneswar, my performances were up and down because I had pain on and off.
During the last season this pole vaulter , a Reliance Foundation sponsored athlete, had a severe and nagging backache when she didn’t get enough recovery time between competitions. This season, she and her coach have concentrated more on the runway approach, which she has been struggling with for years.
Her coach Russel told media “We are concentrating only on the runway, mainly the high carry of the pole vault because earlier she didn’t have enough confidence on the runway”.
She said “I have major competitions ahead and was focusing only on the techniques. It worked for me and I am really happy with that. I was mainly focusing on the runway approach only. Previously, I was struggling with the runway”.
Explaining further, the woman achiever said “ “Wind is a major factor in pole vault. If you are taking the pole high and if you are having the heavy wind against you, it will be very difficult for you to move forward and attack the last stride approaching the runway. But here, you won’t be having that much thing as there is no wind indoors. You won’t worry anything and you can approach easily. So, it’s an advantage for pole vaulters.”
