NIGGLING foot pain did not deter national long-distance runner Yeshnil Karan from finishing fourth at the New Zealand Athletics Championships held recently.
Karan finished with a time of 9:21.98 in the men’s 3000m steeplechase event, one of his first assignments on the track for this year.
He also achieved the Commonwealth Games qualifying standards.
While his performance marked overcoming the foot pain, 14 hours prior to the event, he had finished eighth in the men’s 1500m final with a time of 3:52.99 which is also the third fastest 1500m finish of his athletic career and only two seconds out from his personal best.
Reflecting on the trip, Karan said it had been successful and he managed to still compete in the two events despite the pain he was afflicted with.
“This trip to New Zealand has been a successful and memorable one. Despite limited preparations and dealing with niggling foot pain, I was able to compete in two events and run close to my personal best in the 1500m,” Karan said in a statement.
Preparing for the New Zealand outing meant having to adjust training sessions due to severe weather conditions such as flooding in Yaladro, Tavua where Karan is from.
This meant he had to train on roads with unsuitable conditions however he turned this to his advantage in helping him also win gold medals in the Polynesian Track and Field Championships, which were integrated into the New Zealand Athletics Championships programme.
Meanwhile, Karan was not the lone athlete flying the noble banner blue there as Sera Nasilivata also finished second with a time of 12.49s in the women’s 100m, while Ratu Penaia Ramasirai finished second with a time of 11.00s in the Polynesian Championships division.
The three athletes will now focus on preparing for the Oceania Championships in May in Darwin, Australia.
