I observed how they paced themselves and where they made their move during a race. “I also got a chance to interact with some of the best 800m runners in the world. Joseph took part mostly in the B-races, which are meant for athletes who race between 1:48 and 1:49 (the A-races are for the elite runners who finish inside 1:45:00). And we had to keep calling them and pestering them to get the permission to race,” says Markose. “You had to wait for the application window to open and then you had to quickly send in your application and hope it will be accepted. While the AFI gave Joseph the much-needed NOC without which he could not leave the national camp, it was the athlete and his coach who had to keep calling the organisers to make sure they got entry in the races. The career span of an athlete is limited so you have to back yourself if you believe,” says Joseph. There’s no point complaining that you are not getting enough exposure and then waiting for someone else to provide it for you. “Ultimately I spent Rs 4.5 lakh which I had won in prize money over my career. Joseph, though, put his own money on the line to pay for competing in five European Grand Prix in Belgium, Finland and Sweden. So you need to keep competing to improve,’ says Markose.īut while lack of regular international competition has for long been the bugbear of Indian athletes, few have actually done something about it. “If you take part in just one international competition, its difficult to figure out if you are doing something wrong. But Markose and Joseph’s big decision was to compete in Europe.
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