Rozario aims for further leap forward at Asiad

With the completion of her master’s studies in 2024 and SEA Games debut in 2025, national long jumper Tia Rozario has hit one milestone after another in consecutive years.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

Tia Rozario leaping to a silver at the Singapore Open Track and Field Championships on April 16, with a best of 5.73m on her fifth attempt.

(ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR)

In 2026, the 25-year-old will fulfil another dream of hers, when she flies the flag for the Republic at the Sept 19-Oct 4 Asian Games in Japan, having qualified for the long jump.

Rozario qualified for the Asiad with a 6.16m personal best at the Thailand Open Track & Field Championships last June, surpassing the 6.14m benchmark set by the sixth-place finisher at the last Games in Hangzhou.

It will be her first time at the quadrennial and the desire to make her mark on her debut has seen her start the year with two national records in the first quarter.

Earlier in April, she smashed her own triple jump mark at the Australian Athletics Championships, with her leap of 13.21m bettering her previous national mark of 13.01m from the Duke Invitational two years ago.

In February, she set the women’s indoor long jump national record at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin, China, after she leapt 5.96m in the final to better her previous mark of 5.82m registered in 2024.

Speaking to The Straits Times after she finished second at the Singapore Open Track and Field Championships on April 16, Rozario said: “Since I came back in 2024, I’ve been able to show myself, my coach and Singapore that I am consistently making improvements, getting stronger. And it’s translating into farther jumps.