Sick of nerves Tasa Jiya reaches semi-finals 200 meters at World Cup debut

This article was last updated on August 23, 2023

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‘Sick of nerves’ Jiya reaches semi-finals 200 meters at World Cup debut

Jiya was ‘really sick’ of nerves for World Cup debut: ‘Another experience richer’

Jiya qualifies for the semi-finals

Tasa Jiya has qualified for the semi-finals in the 200 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Jiya made her debut at a World Championship and sprinted to a time of 22.97 to finish third in her series.

Afterwards, she admitted that she was quite nervous. “It’s my first big race. I was really sick of nerves. That was already new to me, because I’m never really nervous and now suddenly I am. So I’m an experience richer,” said 25-year-old Jiya.

‘Different kind of pressure’

Jiya thinks the nerves were because she suddenly had a lot to lose. “I knew that if I had a bad race I would be out immediately. That’s a different kind of pressure. You want to grow in a tournament.”

According to the sprinter, she will now be more relaxed towards the semi-finals. “I’m also better used to the conditions now. I was a bit disappointed with the heat today. The last few days I’ve been bragging to everyone that the heat doesn’t bother me. Well, here’s my karma, because today I almost got knocked out a few times.”

“I’ve had to experience it all, but it’s a lot of fun,” says Jiya with a smile on her face. “I’ve had tears in my eyes a few times, when I realized I’m at a World Cup. It’s so big, so beautiful. I’ve had to get it from the couch in recent years and now I’m there myself. Very special.”

Vloon ready at World Cup

The world championships are over for Menno Vloon. The 29-year-old Dutchman, who surprisingly won the pole vault at the European Championship for national teams two months ago, finished sixteenth in qualifying.

Vloon got off to a slow start and needed three attempts to reach the initial height of 5.35 metres. After warming up, he then flew 5.55 meters in two attempts and 5.70 meters in one attempt.

5.75 meters was then too high for Vloon. Armand Duplantis, the big favorite in the pole vault, had no trouble in qualifying and did not record a single fault jump.