New Delhi: Legendary long jumper Anju Bobby George stated Friday that she has recently decided to approach the IOC to investigate into the results of 2004 Olympics after all the podium finishers – Russian Tatyana Lebedeva, Irina Simagina and Tatyana Kotova – failed drugs tests in other competitions the same year. Anju had finished fifth with an effort of 6.83m.
Asked about the updates on her efforts together with Australia’s Bronwyn Thompson and Britain’s Jade Johnson who had finished fourth and sixth respectively, she said, “We are still preparing the document, we have to collect a lot of documents. It is not easy.”
The long jumper also said Indian athletes will continue to languish at the global stage until they aspire to compete regularly at top level international events.
Anju, the only Indian athlete to have won a medal in the World Championships with a long jump bronze in 2003, said that most of the Indian athletes pay emphasis on training rather than going out and competing at the international events.
“Infrastructure is much better now than in our time, but the main thing is that we are stuck at where we are because our athletes still believing only in training. They are not going out for international competitions,” Anju told this agency.
“Actually, we are doing only the training part which is the 50 per cent part. But peaking in competitions and peaking in high level competitions through Grand Prix and Diamond League events is not happening for Indian athletes. That is a must,” she added.
Explaining further how an Indian athlete should go about to achieve success at the global stage, Anju said, “We are just focusing on training. That is not the way you get success in Olympics or World Championships,” pointed out Anju. “You need to take part in other top level international competitions. I was doing it and that was why I got success at that level,” she added.
