Date:08/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/08/stories/2006120811782000.htm

Sport - Athletics

Jithin C. Thomas, the boy who grew wings

Stan Rayan

KOCHI: As a little boy, he had always been fascinated by the high jump. Kozhikode's Jithin C. Thomas longed to fly over the bar too. But six years ago, when he went to try out the event, the coach told him that he was too young. That he would have to wait for another year.

Jithin was a good sprinter at the school-level then, he had even won medals at district meets, but all he wanted to do was to put on the flying shoes and soar. The next year, when he got his `licence to fly', he put all his heart into high jump.

His best in the first year was 1.50m. And when he switched from the scissors style to the fosbury flop the next year after joining the G.V. Raja Sports School in Thiruvananthapuram, he improved by a stunning 25cms. This year has been a special one for him. He rose to a personal best 2.01m while winning the under-18 gold at the Youth National in Warangal in October and a few days ago, went up to 2.03m in the while winning the silver at the Junior National in Bangalore. The top two finishers bettered the three-year-old under-18 meet record of Bengal's Harishanker Roy, currently the country's big star in the sport.

The other day in Palakkad, competing in the senior age group despite being a junior, Jithin went past the Schools National record at the Kerala Schools Meet with a 2.01m effort. Jithin's dad, a farmer, was a good volleyballer in his youth. And his aunt, Railway's Elsamma, represented the country in the sport.

He is a confident jumper now and has set a target of 2.10m for next year.