Murali Sreeshankar of India wins the long jump gold in Greece

Murali Sreeshankar, India’s best long jumper, won gold in the 12th International Jumping Meeting in Kallithea, Greece, with an attempt of 8.31 meters.

With a jump of 8.36 meters, the Tokyo Olympian holds the current national record, which he set last month.

In the 10-man contest, Sreeshankar was followed by Sweden’s Thobias Montler, who took silver with an 8.27m leap, and France’s Jules Pommery, who took bronze with an 8.17m leap.

Only the top three jumpers broke the eight-meter barrier.

Meanwhile, Jeswin Aldrin finished fifth in the 17th Iberoamerican Meeting in Huelva, Spain, by clearing 7.69 meters.

The top three men in the seven-man field were Croatian Filip Pravdiva (7.91m), Uruguayan Emiliano Lasa (7.82m), and Peruvian José Luis Mandros (7.77m).

“Sreeshankar is known for his long jumps. World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze event at the 12th International Jumps Meeting in Kallithea, Greece. Athletics Federation of India tweeted, “Performance 8.31 meters.”

Sreeshankar warmed up on Wednesday evening with jumps of 7.88 and 7.71 meters before leaping 8.31 meters in his first outdoor international contest since the Olympics.

Sreeshankar came into the tournament on the strength of his strong domestic form, in which he consistently broke the 8-meter barrier.

After a close struggle with Tamil Nadu’s Jeswin Aldrin at the season-opening Indian Open Jumps Competitions in Thiruvanthapuram, the Kerala athlete broke his own national record at the Federation Cup in Kozhikode.