New Delhi: Indian track athlete K M Deeksha achieved a remarkable feat by setting a new national record in the women’s 1500m event, while Avinash Sable secured the second position in the men’s 5000m event at the Sound Running Track Fest held in Los Angeles.
Deeksha, aged 25, clinched the third position in the final held on Saturday, completing the distance in 4:04.78, thereby surpassing the previous record of 4:05.39 established by Harmilan Bains in 2021 at the National Open Athletics Championships in Warangal.
Prior to this achievement, Deeksha’s personal best stood at 4:06.07, achieved during the final of the National Inter-State Athletics Championships at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar in 2023, where she secured the gold medal by surpassing Bains.
Hailing from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, Deeksha has been a part of the MP Athletics Academy for the past five years, under the guidance of coach S. K. Prasad.
In the women’s 5000m event, Parul Chaudhary finished fifth with a time of 15:10.69s, narrowly missing out on improving her national record, while Ankita finished in the tenth position with a time of 15:28.88.
Sable, competing in the men’s 5000m event instead of his usual 3000m steeplechase, secured the second position with a time of 13:20.37. Gulveer Singh also participated in the same event, finishing with a time of 13:31.95.
Sable’s national record in the 5000-meter event stands at 13:19.30.
Kartik Kumar, despite running the last lap in 62 seconds in the men’s 10000m event, finished in the second position with a time of 28:07.66s.
It is worth noting that the Sound Running Track Fest is classified as a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze-level event.
