Her career-best leap of 6.82m, which made Anju Bobby George the first Indian to win a gold medal in the prestigious IAAF Super Grand Prix circuit at Doha, will not enter the women's long jump record books as the wind speed was above the permissible limits.
"The permissible (wind speed) limit is 2.0 metres per second and since the recorded speed was 2.3 m/s it will not replace her existing national record (of 6.74m)," said Athletic Federation of India Secretary Lalit Bhanot in Delhi.
The International Association of Athletic Federations rule states that "if the wind velocity measured in the direction of jumping behind the competitor averages more than two metres per second, the record will not be accepted."
The wind speed recorded for the Latvian silver medallist and Polish bronze winner yesterday were far above the accepted limit at 4.5 m/s and 3.5 m/s.
The 27-year-old Anju, who last year became the first Indian to win a medal in the World Athletic Championships winning the bronze, recorded her previous best effort of 6.74m at Thiruvananthapuram in 2001 and equalled the distance at Delhi in 2002.
That distance -- 6.74m -- will hence remain the national record as yesterday's leap was wind aided.
But not bettering her own record should be of little concern to the star long jumper, now No. 6 in the latest world ranking and a medal prospect for India in the Olympics.
Anju's next competition will be the Thales FBK-Games in Hengelo, The Netherlands on May 31.
