The long run 42.195 km couldn’t have been possible to win without water. Jaisha missed the run and collapsed due to lack of crucial drink at the refreshment points.
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On returning to India, she said that she was not provided any water and energy drinks by the officials even though designated stations were allotted to India. This wonder woman has clocked a lovely 2:34.43 seconds in Beijing in 2015 to finish 18th. Apparently not a single Indian official who provided nothing, not even water to the Indian athlete.
“As per the prevailing rules and regulations, the organisers installed one water point per every 2.5km and one refreshment booth per every 2.5km”. I ran in scorching heat.
Jaisha said she got no response from officials when she asked why water was not provided to her at the stalls. She was immediately taken to the nearest medical facility, where her coach Nikolai Snesarev got into an altercation with one of the doctors and ended up being detained for half-a-day by the local police.
“While other athletes had the luxury of taking glucose, honey etc there was nothing for us (Jaisha and Kavita) to drink at our stations”.
“The Athletics Federation of India is extremely disturbed to see a section of the media carry inaccurate and misleading information regarding our athlete, Ms. O.P. Jaisha without verification of facts”, AFI said in its statement yesterday. “I was OK for the next few days”. She clocked two hours, 47 minutes and 19 seconds, far slower than her personal best of 2:34.43 recorded at last year’s world championships in Beijing. In the process she bettered her own mark of 2:37:29, set at the 2015 Mumbai marathon where she stood first among women.
Sudha and Babar went on to qualify for 3,000 metre steeplechase, but Jaisha wasn’t impressive in the track events.
The runner and her coach have had a prickly relationship.
This veteran Sports woman definitely deserved more support and back up.
Valson revealed that the Sports Ministry had asked for details and he had sent the rules regarding the marathon.
With public outrage growing over the shoddy treatment which Jaisha has alleged, Union Sports Minister Vijay Goyal has said that his ministry should not be blamed, and it is the Indian Olympic Association which is responsible for such matters.
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Instead of helping our athletes, our Minister has managed to put off the Olympic Organizers.
