Aspire to hurdle in athletic contest (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
long jump
'athletic contest' is the definition.
'long jump' can be an answer for 'contest' (long jump is a kind of contest). I'm not sure about the 'athletic' bit.
'aspire to hurdle' is the wordplay.
'aspire' becomes 'long' (I've seen this in another clue).
'to hurdle' becomes 'jump' (I've seen this before).
'long'+'jump'='LONG-JUMP'
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for long jump that I've seen before include "Olympic field event in which Greg Rutherford won gold in 2012" , "Sand-pit leap" , "Athletics event" , "Field event combining speed and agility" .)