At the Track Fest 2024 athletics meet in Los Angeles, Indian runner KM Deeksha made headlines by setting a new national record in the women’s 1500m race. Competing at Jack Kemp Stadium, the 25-year-old finished third with a time of 4:04.78, surpassing Harmilan Bains’ previous record of 4:05.39 set in 2021. USA’s Krissy Gear secured victory in the women’s 1500m with a time of 4:03.65, while the entry standard for the Paris 2024 Olympics in this category is 4:02.50. In the women’s 5000m race, Parul Chaudhary narrowly missed resetting her national record by 0.34 seconds, finishing fifth with a time of 15:10.69. Ankita achieved a new personal best of 15:28.08, coming in 10th. Reigning Olympic champion Sifan Hassan won the 5000m race in 14:58.83. Other notable performances included Seema and Sanjivani Jadhav finishing 12th and 13th, respectively, in the women’s 10000m race, and Priti Lamba clocking 9:53:40 in the women’s 3000m steeplechase, securing 11th place.

From the editorial board of WSB