Fayetteville (USA), Feb 15 (.) India’s Lokesh Sathyanathan became the first Indian to cross the eight-metre mark in indoor long jump, registering a historic leap of 8.01m at the Tyson Invitational 2026 in Arkansas on Saturday.
Competing for Tarleton State at the Randal Tyson Indoor Center, the 26-year-old finished eighth in a strong 16-athlete field and set a new Indian indoor national record, improving the previous mark of 7.97m held by Jeswin Aldrin since 2023, as per Olympics.com.
The record is subject to ratification by the Athletics Federation of India.
The event was won by American hurdler Cordell Tinch with a jump of 8.29m, while Jamaica’s world champion Tajay Gayle finished fourth with 8.13m. South Africa’s Olympic silver medallist Luvo Manyonga placed sixth with 8.11m.
Sathyanathan produced a consistent series of jumps measuring 7.69m, foul, 7.94m, 7.99m, 8.01m, and 7.96m during the competition. His record-breaking effort was also the second-best jump of his career, behind his personal best of 8.02m achieved at an outdoor meet in California in 2023.
The Tyson Invitational, part of the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver calendar, featured several elite international athletes.
Earlier this season, Sathyanathan had finished third with a 7.80m effort in Texas and won a meet in Oklahoma with a jump of 7.83m, signalling strong form heading into the indoor campaign.
. VAN PRS