New Delhi Marathon 2024: Indian runners eye Paris Olympics berth
The men’s field will be led by 2017 Asian marathon champion Gopi T while Nirmaben Thakor Bharatjee, the Mumbai Marathon 2024 Indian elite winner, will lead the women's charge.
Athletics
The New Delhi Marathon 2024, which will act as a qualifying meet for the Paris Olympics, will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Sunday.
Thonakal Gopi, the first male Indian athlete to have won a gold medal at the Asian Marathon Championships in 2017, will lead the men’s charge in the race.
Gopi T was among three Indians who competed in the men’s marathon at the Rio 2016 Olympics. He finished 25th with a timing of 2:15:25, ahead of his compatriots. His personal best is 2:13:39, achieved at the 2019 Seoul Marathon.
No Indian qualified for the marathon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Srinu Bugatha (PB 2:14:59), who pipped Gopi T in the Indian elite men’s field at the Mumbai Marathon last month, and Anish Thapa (PB 2:16:41) will also compete in the New Delhi Marathon.
The qualifying times for the Paris 2024 Olympics marathon races stands at 2:08:10 for men and 2:26:50 for women.
This means, Indian men will have to break the long-standing national record of 2:12:00, set by Shivnath Singh in Jalandhar in 1978, to make the cut for the upcoming Summer Games.
A total of 80 athletes can compete in each of the men’s and women’s marathon events at the Paris Olympics. Of these 66 can qualify via the entry standard, while the remaining 14 can make the cut through the world rankings route. The qualification window ends on May 5.
In the women’s category, Nirmaben Thakor Bharatjee will lead the field at the New Delhi Marathon. She clocked a personal best of 2:47:11 to top the India elite women’s runners at last month’s Mumbai Marathon.
The national record in the women’s marathon is 2:34:43, set by O. P. Jaisha at the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, the People’s Republic of China.
The ninth edition of the New Delhi Marathon has also been recognised by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) as a national event.
Over 19,000 participants are expected to be taking part in the New Delhi Marathon 2024.
Participants from 289 cities, 27 states and 19 countries will feature in four different events. Around 3,000 athletes and enthusiasts have registered for the full marathon, 7,000 for the half marathon, 5,000 for the 10K run and 4,000 for the 5K run.
New Delhi Marathon 2024 route
The New Delhi Marathon will begin at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and turn left towards Lodhi Road. The participants will then make a U-turn at Sri Aurobindo Marg and pass Lodhi Garden. The runners will then take another left for Khan Market before returning on Lodhi Road crossing the Delhi Golf Club. The athletes will then pass Humayun’s Tomb and run towards India Gate. Taking the Kartavya Path, they will run towards Janpath Road to return towards India Gate. Crossing the Humayun’s Tomb they will head back to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The full marathon participants will run two loops of this route, while half marathoners will run one to complete the event.
New Delhi Marathon 2024 schedule
- Marathon Open - 4:15 AM
- Marathon Elite - 5:00 AM
- Half Marathon - 6:15 AM
- 10K - 7:45 AM
- 5K - 8:30 AM
