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BENGALURU: How tough is it to run a marathon (42.195 km) without getting enough water to drink? Ask India's national record holder OP Jaisha who collapsed at the end of the gruelling run in Rio, thanks to the apathy of Indian officials who provided nothing, not even water, during the women's race at refreshment points.
"Though there were officials from all other countries to provide refreshments to their runners at designated points -after every 2.5 km -there was no one from India and our desks were empty next to the country's name and flag," a distraught Jaisha told TOI here recalling her ordeal.
"I don't know how I managed to finish without getting enough water to drink. The organizers provided water and sponge only at 8-km intervals. The water from these stations lasted hardly 500m and it was almost impossible to run after the 30-km mark under the scorching sun," said Jaisha, who finished the race in 2 hours, 47.19s. She had clocked 2:34.43s in Beijing Worlds last year to finish 18th.
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"While other athletes had the luxury of taking glucose, honey etc there was nothing for us (Jaisha and Kavita) to drink at our stations. Not even water," Jaisha said, her voice choking with emotion.
The experienced distance runner said she collapsed at the end of the race and didn't know what happened till she regained consciousness after 2-3 hours. "They injected seven bottles of glucose to help me recover. I didn't see any doctor from our contingent while help came from fellow marathon runner Gopi T and coach Radhakrishnan Nair. Coach Nikolai was also there for few hours before he was taken away by the organizers," she said.
"I was OK for the next few days. But now I'm feeling very weak and it will take at least 2-3 months of ayurvedic treatment and massage for my body to recover," said the top athlete who reached here on Saturday night. According to SAI doctors, she has fever, but Jaisha refused to get admitted to a hospital.
As per IAAF rules, India could have assigned four officials at four points -apart from the official stations -to provide water and refreshments to the athletes. "It is the duty of the coach and federation officials to assign people for this. One country's athletes are not supposed to drink from stuff kept for others as it could lead to a warning and then disqualification," informed sources told TOI.
The Kerala athlete also blamed her coach Nikolai Snesearev for forcing her to run the marathon. "I wanted to qualify in the 1500m (after the Mumbai marathon) but the coach forced me to continue in marathon," she said.
"Even when I suffered an injury during the training period the coach didn't give me time to recover. Moreover, we always trained early in the morning, first in Ooty and later in Rio. So, it was tough to adjust to the heat here," she added.
http://m.timesofindia.com/sports/ri...to-complete-marathon/articleshow/53803826.cms
@Nilgiri isn't this brutal ...
"Though there were officials from all other countries to provide refreshments to their runners at designated points -after every 2.5 km -there was no one from India and our desks were empty next to the country's name and flag," a distraught Jaisha told TOI here recalling her ordeal.
"I don't know how I managed to finish without getting enough water to drink. The organizers provided water and sponge only at 8-km intervals. The water from these stations lasted hardly 500m and it was almost impossible to run after the 30-km mark under the scorching sun," said Jaisha, who finished the race in 2 hours, 47.19s. She had clocked 2:34.43s in Beijing Worlds last year to finish 18th.
Free 300 MB mobile internet daily
Ad Databack Install now
"While other athletes had the luxury of taking glucose, honey etc there was nothing for us (Jaisha and Kavita) to drink at our stations. Not even water," Jaisha said, her voice choking with emotion.
The experienced distance runner said she collapsed at the end of the race and didn't know what happened till she regained consciousness after 2-3 hours. "They injected seven bottles of glucose to help me recover. I didn't see any doctor from our contingent while help came from fellow marathon runner Gopi T and coach Radhakrishnan Nair. Coach Nikolai was also there for few hours before he was taken away by the organizers," she said.
"I was OK for the next few days. But now I'm feeling very weak and it will take at least 2-3 months of ayurvedic treatment and massage for my body to recover," said the top athlete who reached here on Saturday night. According to SAI doctors, she has fever, but Jaisha refused to get admitted to a hospital.
As per IAAF rules, India could have assigned four officials at four points -apart from the official stations -to provide water and refreshments to the athletes. "It is the duty of the coach and federation officials to assign people for this. One country's athletes are not supposed to drink from stuff kept for others as it could lead to a warning and then disqualification," informed sources told TOI.
The Kerala athlete also blamed her coach Nikolai Snesearev for forcing her to run the marathon. "I wanted to qualify in the 1500m (after the Mumbai marathon) but the coach forced me to continue in marathon," she said.
"Even when I suffered an injury during the training period the coach didn't give me time to recover. Moreover, we always trained early in the morning, first in Ooty and later in Rio. So, it was tough to adjust to the heat here," she added.
http://m.timesofindia.com/sports/ri...to-complete-marathon/articleshow/53803826.cms
@Nilgiri isn't this brutal ...
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