Ram Baboo becomes seventh Indian to breach Paris Olympics 2024 qualification mark in men's 20km race walk

Ram Baboo also set a new personal best in the event.

India’s Ram Baboo achieved the qualification mark for Paris Olympics 2024 in men’s 20km race walk after clocking a personal best time of 1:20.00 at the Dudinska 50 athletics competition in Slovakia on Saturday. The 24-year-old finished third to breach the Paris Olympics qualification mark of 1:20:10.

With that he also surpassed his previous personal best time of 1:21:04 which he had established at the South Asian and Indian Race Walking Championships earlier this year. According to reports, this is the first an Indian has finished at the podium in this particular meet.

Peru’s Cesar Augusto Rodriguez topped the podium while Brian Daniel Pintado of Ecuador finished second with 1:19:41 and 1:19:44 timings respectively.

Baboo, who clinched the bronze medal in 35km race walk at the Hangzhou Asian Games, is the seventh Indian male race walker to breach the Paris Olympics 2024 qualification mark after Vikash Singh, Paramjeet Singh Bisht, Akshdeep Singh, Suraj Panwar, Servin Sebastian and Arshpreet Singh.

However, their journey to the Olympics is not solely determined by meeting the qualifying standards as a country can only send up to three athletes per event in athletics. It will now be on the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to determine which three will represent the nation in men’s 20km race walk at Paris.

In contrast, Priyanka Goswami remains the sole female race walker from India to have qualified for the Paris Olympics, having done so at the National Open Race Walking Championships in Jharkhand last year.

The AFI is likely to host a final selection trial for the Olympics in June to determine which athletes, across several track and field disciplines, will head to the Paris Olympics.

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Baboo’s accomplishment is particularly noteworthy as he holds the national record in the men’s 35km race walk with a time of 2:29:56 in 2022. His journey from a daily wage laborer and hotel waiter to an Asian Games bronze medalist is inspiring.

Ram Baboo completed his initial education at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, followed by a six-month stint at Major Dhyanchand Sports College in Saifai. He then advanced his training in Bhopal, marking the next phase of his educational journey.

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