T. C. Yohannan (born 19 May 1947), in full Thadathuvila Chandapillai Yohannan, is a former

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

long jumper The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

who held the national record in

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

for nearly 3 decades and represented India in the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He hails from the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. Yohannan will be known for the new dimension he gave to long jump in India in 1974, the occasion was the Tehran Asian Games of 1974. Yohannan cleared a distance of 8.07 metres at the Teheran Asian Games for a new Asian record.

Early life

Born at Maranadu village in

Kollam district Kollam district (), (formerly Quilon district) is one of 14 List of districts in Kerala, districts of the state of Kerala, India. The district has a cross-section of Kerala's natural attributes; it is endowed with a long coastline, a major Lac ...

on 19 May 1947, Yohannan had his early feel of athletics in the Inter-School Meets for

Ezhukone Ezhukone is a village in Kollam district in the state of Kerala, India between Kottarakara and Kundara . Transportation * Ezhukone railway station on Kollam–Sengottai branch line is very close to the town. * Ezhukone is situated along ...

Panchayat in 1964. He joined the public sector

Bhilai Steel Plant The Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), located in Bhilai, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, is India's first and main producer of steel rails, as well as a major producer of wide steel plates and other steel products. The plant also produces steel and ...

, wherein he represented his Plant in the Steel Plants Sports Meet in 1969 and in the same year, had his first experience of athletics at the national level. He finished fourth in the long Jump and fifth in the triple jump. He progressed to the second spot in the long jump event of the Nationals in 1970 and then matured to set a national mark of 7.60 metres in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the '' Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') construct ...

in 1971.

Career

Selected to represent India in an international in Singapore, he won gold medals in both the long and triple jump. In 1972 he added the national triple jump title to his bag. His 7.78 metre jump created a new national record in 1973. He won the gold in Teheran Asian Games with an Asian record of 8.07. He was invited to Japan the next year and won gold medals in competition's at Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kobe and then repeated his success in championships in the Philippines and Sibu City. His last fling at international competition was at the

Montreal Olympics Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

in 1976. He hung up his shoes after that. A diploma holder in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

, Yohannan presently works as Assistant Public Relations Officer with the automobile giant TELCO.

Awards and honours

Besides the national honour conferred on him in the form of Arjuna Award in 1974, he has received numerous other awards which include a merit award from the

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior mini ...

and the TelcoVeer award by his employers. He has also been honoured by the Bombay and Chennai Sports Journalists Association,

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...

, Sportsweek and the Tata Sports Club of Bombay. He is the father of former Indian cricketer

Tinu Yohannan Tinu Yohannan (born 18 February 1979) is a former Indian cricketer. He is a right-handed fast medium bowler. He played first class cricket for Kerala and was the first Kerala player to play Test and one day cricket for India. He is the curre ...

His elder son Tisvy Yohannan is settled in Melbourne (Australia).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yohannan, T. C. Malayali people Living people Recipients of the Arjuna Award Sportspeople from Kollam Indian male long jumpers 1947 births Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of India Athletes from Kerala Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games

Early life

Career

Awards and honours

See also

References

External links