CHENNAI: Jinson Johnson couldn’t believe what he had just done. After completing his race at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, he kept mentioning how big a competition the IAAF World Challenge is. He stressed on that fact in almost every sentence.
The 28-year-old, who missed the Inter-State meet in Lucknow, was sure that he would get a personal best on Sunday. But with the likes of Nick Willis — the New Zealander who won an Olympic silver in 2008 and bronze in 2016 — in the line-up, the Asian Games gold medallist did not even dream of finishing on the podium.
But to his surprise, that is exactly what he did. Jinson scraped almost two seconds from his personal best and the national record which he previously held, to earn the 1500m silver with a timing of 3.35.24. By doing so, he also managed to qualify for the World Championships in Doha later this month. “I was sure of getting a personal best. But I did not think of a medal. Most of the runners here have had a better timing than me. I am pleased with my performance,” he told this daily from Berlin.
After the high of Asian Games, Jinson was struggling to replicate the same form he had shown in Jakarta. At the Federation Cup in March, he recorded 3.41.67. After injuring his calf, the athlete from Kozhikode was not able to compete in the Asian Championships final in April. Struggling to find his feet, Jinson finally got a break in the Netherlands in June, when he clocked 3.37.62. “When you are not in form, you lose confidence. That’s why the result in the Netherlands was good for me. This now is a huge positive.”
While he can tick the Worlds qualification checkbox from his ‘to do’ list, Jinson has no time to waste. He was, in fact, feeling bad that a bigger push would have earned him an Olympic berth. Prior to landing in Germany, Jinson was training in Bengaluru under JS Bhatia. Asked what specific changes he had brought in to improve the timing, Jinson said: “I have been working hard on the final stretch. Those last 300-400m can be crucial in 1500m. That helped in Netherlands and here. I hope this continues.”
Jinson was due to leave for Colorado on Monday to start training under Scott Simmons, who heads the American Distance Project. While he is coming back to Doha to participate in the Worlds, Jinson, who ran the 800m at the Rio Olympics, has only one thing in his mind. “It is not about Asian Games or Asian Championships anymore. This year is bigger. I am glad that I qualified for Worlds. But the real challenge lies in Tokyo. And that is the only target this year.”