Asian Athletics: Visualisation Of Race During Downpour Keeps Jyothi On Track To Gold

As she warmed up for the 100m hurdles at the Asian Athletics Championship in Gumi, South Korea, Indian hurdler Jyothi Yarraji’s thought process and preparations were rudely halted by a heavy downpour.

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With her warm-up interrupted as the evening session was delayed by two hours, the Indian national champion kept working on her mind, keeping it ready for the race, whenever it happened. "As it started to rain, I kept visualising how I would go about the race, what I would do on the track, and kept thinking about the race. I also had a thorough warm-up routine to prepare myself for the race," Jyothi said in a virtual interaction after the race.

Once the sky cleared and the evening's programme was restarted, Jyothi did not get distracted by the unexpected break and went on to win the women’s 100m race with a Continental Record time of 12.06 seconds. "My focus before the race was on visualisation and mental preparation. I visualised how I'd start and cross each hurdle in the race. I was focused on my performance. I was very focused on getting a good start. It all worked out very well for me and I'm really happy," said Jyothi.