The long comeback of India's star runner Jinson Johnson

The middle-distance runner speaks to Mint about his struggles with injury, covid-19 and his Asian Games hopes

- Arun Janardhan

In September 2019, Jinson Johnson set his personal best timing of 3:35.24 during a 1500m run in Berlin. Yet, in less than a year, his career seemed to be on the brink of ending.

An Achilles tendon injury at the end of 2019 sent him into an extended rehabilitation. The covid-19 pandemic followed, during which Johnson was left without competitions or a training routine, like several other athletes. In April 2021, he got infected with the virus, a severe strain from which it took a long time for him to recover. The recovery period practically ended his season as he was not fit enough to participate or qualify for any of the major competitions.

His slow return to competitive athletics started only from April 2022, when he finished third in the National Federation Cup in Thenhipalam, Kerala-his only competition of the year and his first in nearly three years. Johnson has since been on an upswing.

This year, he registered a timing of 3:40:99 in Orlando, USA, in June, earned a gold medal in the Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi in May and a top finish in the Indian Grand Prix in Trivandrum in March. He also finished first in the 1500m at the 62nd National Inter-state Senior Athletics Championships in Bhubaneshwar in June with a timing of 3:42.77.