Commonwealth Games 2022: Why Sreeshankar was given silver despite being tied with the gold medallist for distance — Explained

Ace Indian long jumper, Murali Sreeshankar, on Friday, clinched a historic silver medal for India in the sport at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The 23-year-old became only the fourth Indian to bag a long jump medal in the quadrennial event.

But while Sreeshankar's performance in Birmingham was surely historic, what has baffled fans is that despite the fact that Sreeshankar was equal on distance with the gold medallist from Bahamas L Nairn at 8.08m after all six attempts, he was awarded the silver. Why?

Why was Sreeshankar awarded silver despite being equal on distance for gold?

As per the rules of the standard long jump competition, if two athletes are equal on distance for a podium finish, their second best jump is given preference. This means that whoever has a better second jump will be ranked higher than the other.

Since, Sreeshankar's second-best jump read 7.84m, and Nairn had a second-best attempt of 7.98m, the Indian had to settle for the silver medal.

Thus, Murali Sreeshankar was awarded silver despite being tied for gold with equal distance.