New Delhi, Feb 23 (PTI) Former Asian champion marathon runner Gopi Thonakal admits it would be difficult for Indians to make it to the Paris Olympics in the event as the qualifying time is almost beyond their reach, though he would be looking to break the 46-year-old national record.
The 35-year-old Gopi, who became the first Asian champion marathon runner in 2017, told PTI that the Paris Games qualifying time of two hours, eight minutes and 10 seconds will be “very tough” for the Indians to achieve.
“This qualifying timing (of the Paris Olympics) is very tough for Indian marathon runners. We are hoping to get through (the Olympics) via rankings where an average is calculated from five competitions over around two years,” he said ahead of Sunday’s New Delhi Marathon, an Olympic qualifying event.
“I am hoping to run my personal best here in Delhi. I am perfectly fit now though I had less time for training after the Mumbai Marathon (in January),” said Gopi who has a personal best of 2:13:39.
The Paris Olympics marathon qualifying window is from November 6, 2022 to May 5, 2024, and 80 athletes will compete in the 42.195km event. But there is no Indian listed so far in the World Athletics’ Road to Paris chart, which gives a rough idea about who are likely to make it to the Olympics.
Gopi made it to the 2016 Rio Olympics when the qualifying time was 2:19. The qualifying time was 2:11:30 for the Tokyo Olympics, before the World Athletics made it 2:08:10 this time.
Asked if he can break the national record of 2:12.00, which has been in the name of Shivnath Singh since 1978, Gopi said, “Yes, why not. I can try for the national record. I have been trying for that but I had faced problems in the last 10km (of the 42.195km race) or so in two or three events earlier.
“Otherwise, the national record would have been broken earlier.” He said the national record will ultimately fall in the next few years.
“When I started in 2016, the Indian standard was 2:18 or 2:19. Our group took it to 2:15, 2:16. It is reducing slowly and it cannot happen overnight. We are now running 2:14 and gradually the national record will fall.” On Sunday Gopi will be running his fifth race in around two years after making a comeback in 2023.
“After taking part in the World Championships in 2019, I had a knee surgery the next year. It took time to recover, then COVID-19 pandemic intervened and thus two years went by. I returned in 2023,” he said.
“I ran in the Mumbai Marathon, Seoul Marathon and Amsterdam Marathon last year and then also Mumbai Marathon (early this year). This will be my fifth race (since 2023) and I am planning to run another one, most probably outside the country,” said Gopi who currently trains in Bengaluru.
His main rivals on Sunday will be 2021 edition winner Srinu Bugatha (PB: 2:14:59) and Anish Thapa (PB: 2:16:41). Last edition’s top-two finishers, Man Singh and Belliappa AB, both Hangzhou Asian Games participants, are missing this time.
Nirmaben Thakor (PB: 2:47:11) and Ashini Jadhav (2:56:41) are among the leading female runners in the fray.
The New Delhi Marathon, being held under the aegis of the Athletics Federation of India, will see 19,000 participants from 289 cities, 27 states and 19 countries in different categories. There will be around 3,000 runners for the full marathon, 7,000 for the half marathon, 5,000 for the 10K and 4,000 for the 5K.
The course will pass some of the city’s iconic landmarks such as Humayun’s Tomb, Lodhi Garden and Khan Market.
Uttar Pradesh’s Ankur Dhama will be among 25 visually-impaired runners who will be taking part in the 10K race. A team of six athlete ambassadors, along with their coach, from ‘Champion in Me’ programme of Bangalore Schools of Sports, will be participating with their determination to combat stigma and discrimination of youth living with HIV.
About 20 HIV-infected children from “Positive Running Programme” of Ananya Trust, Bangalore will also be participating in the event. PTI PDS AM PDS AM AM
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