Krishna Jayasankar makes history, becomes second Indian female shotputter to breach 15m barrier
Krishna Jayasankar made history by becoming only the second Indian woman shotputter to break the 15m barrier, following Manpreet Kaur. The academic and sports scholarship student from the University of Texas earned the silver medal in the Conference USA Indoor Track and Field Championship.
Jayasankar, who hails from Tamil Nadu, set a personal best in the Women's indoor shotput category with a throw of 15 meters. Only Manpreet Kaur has previously broken the 15m barrier, throwing the shot put 15.21m in Doha in 2016.
Erna Gunnarsdottir (16.79m) of Iceland won gold by a fair distance in Alabama, while Lacee Barnes (14.86m) of the Cayman Islands finished third.
Jayasankar, a discus thrower, is currently enrolled at the University of Texas at El Paso on a Rs 1.5 crore scholarship, making her the first Indian woman thrower, the first female athlete from Tamil Nadu, and the second female track and field athlete from India after Lizabeth Karoline (Triple Jumper).
Jessica Schilder of the Netherlands now owns the season record for the furthest throw with a staggering 19.72m. Nobody has hit as long a distance with a shot-put toss in the last six years as this Dutch athlete.
India would be pinning hopes on Jayasankar to improve and bring a few medals for the country.