Dharun Ayyasamy

Dharun Ayyasamy
Dharun at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Personal information
Born (1996-12-31) 31 December 1996
Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, India
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)
400 m, 400 m hurdles
Achievements and titles
Personal bests400 m: 46.30 (2016)400 m hurdles: 48.80 NR (2019)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  India
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place2018 Jakarta400 m hurdles
Silver medal – second place2018 Jakarta4x400m relay
South Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Guwahati400 m hurdles

Dharun Ayyasamy (born 31 December 1996) is an Indian track athlete who specializes in 400 m and 400 m hurdles events. He is the first and only Indian to run below 49sec (48.80sec) in 400 m hurdles. Dharun represented India in the men's 4×400 m relay event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Early life

Dharun was born on 31 December 1996 in Ravuthampalayam village in Tiruppur district of Tamil Nadu.[2] When he was in fourth grade, his father died of tuberculosis. Dharun's mother was a school teacher while his sister Sathya played volleyball for Tamil Nadu.[3][4]

Dharun completed his schooling at The Century Foundation School in Tiruppur. He represented Tamil Nadu at kho kho before switching to athletics in tenth grade.[3][5] He did his Bachelor of Arts degree at Alva's College of Arts in Moodabidri, Karnataka.[6]

Career

Dharun won the 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the 2016 South Asian Games with a time of 50.54 seconds, finishing 0.03 seconds ahead of fellow Indian Jithin Paul whom he overtook at the last hurdle.[7]

In July 2016, Dharun was part of the relay team that broke the national 4 × 400 m relay record at Bengaluru and qualified for the Olympics. The quartet of Dharun, Mohammad Anas, Kunhu Muhammed and Arokia Rajiv clocked 3:00:91, rewriting the national record of 3:02.17 set by themselves four weeks earlier in Turkey. The performance helped the relay team jump to 13th place in the world rankings.[8] It was the third time a men's relay team from India qualified for the Olympics, after 1964 and 2000.

In August 2018, Dharun won the 400 m hurdles silver medal at the Asian Games with a timing of 48.96 seconds setting a new national record.[9][10]

At the 2019 Federation Cup, Dharun broke his own national record for the third time in 400 m hurdles by clocking 48.80 seconds.

References

  1. ^Ayyasamy DharunArchived 2016-08-06 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
  2. ^"Exporters' assn gives 1 lakh to Olympian". The Times of India. 23 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  3. ^ abRSI, Prasad (14 July 2016). "From Tamil Nadu bylanes to Rio track". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  4. ^"Ayyasamy Dharun Profile: 4x400m Relay". The Indian Express. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  5. ^Swaminathan, Swaroop (12 July 2016). "Run that has changed quarter-miler Dharun's world". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  6. ^Kumar, R Vimal (23 July 2016). "Youth from Avinashi qualifies for Olympics". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 August 2016 – via PressReader.
  7. ^"South Asian Games: India Win 11 Out of 12 Medals in Athletics". NDTV. 11 February 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  8. ^"India's 4x400m relay teams qualify for Rio Olympics". Rediff. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 2 August 2016.
  9. ^"Asian Games 2018: Dharun Ayyasamy wins Silver medal in Men's 400m Hurdles, sets new National Record".
  10. ^"Asian Games 2018 Day 9, LIVE: Dharun Ayyasamy wins silver medal in 400m hurdles | Latest News & Updates at DNAIndia.com". dna. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
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