Jyothi Yarraji breaks 60m hurdles national record to win gold in France

Indian hurdler Jyothi Yarraji made a roaring comeback to the track by setting a new national record and winning the gold medal in the 60m hurdles at the Meeting de Nantes Métropole in Nantes, France, on Saturday evening.

She clocked 8.04s in the final and in doing so, bettered her own record.

Earlier in the day, Yarraji had crossed while shaving 0.5s off her previous record of 8.12s, a New National Record at the time. That effort ensured that she qualified for the final of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze level meeting.

🏮National Record Alert | Jyothi Yarraji has won gold in the 60m hurdles by setting a New National Record.

She clocked 8.04s in the final at the Meeting de Nantes Métropole in Nantes, France, on Saturday evening.

Earlier in the day, she has bettered her previous record of… pic.twitter.com/UzjlA7R93R

— The Bridge (@the_bridge_in) January 25, 2025

Jyothi had finished third in Heat 2, behind France’s Sacha Alessandrini, who completed the race in 8.05 seconds, while South Africa’s Marione Fourie topped the heat with a time of 8.03 seconds.

But in the final, Jyothi stepped up her intensity and finished ahead of Fourie, who clocked 8.05s, while Finland's Saara Keskitalo won the bronze medal for clocking 8.13s.

At the 2023 Asian Games, Jyothi won the silver medal in the 100m hurdles, clocking 12.91 seconds.

Last year, she made her Olympic debut in Paris, where she finished fourth in the women’s 100m hurdles repechage heat, failing to qualify for the semi-finals.

Since the Paris Olympics in August, Jyothi had been away from competitive athletics, making the Nantes event her first outing since then. Her last 60m hurdles race was in February 2024 at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran, where she clocked 8.12 seconds and won the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Tejas Shirse won the bronze medal in the men's 60m hurdles closing 7.68s at the same meet.