Indian track and field athlete Vithya Ramraj scripted history at the Asian Games 2026 by shattering PT Usha’s legendary 42-year-old national record in the women’s 400m hurdles.
Clocking a blistering 54.75 seconds in the final, Vithya captured the bronze medal and wiped clean one of Indian athletics’ longest-standing national records.
A Landmark Moment in Indian Athletics
PT Usha set the iconic mark of 55.42 seconds during her legendary fourth-place finish at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics—a timing that remained untouchable for over four decades.
Vithya had previously come close to matching Usha’s timing during domestic trials, but her performance in Nagoya officially established a new benchmark for Indian hurdle sprinting.
|
Athlete |
Event / Venue |
Time (Seconds) |
Milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
|
PT Usha |
1984 Los Angeles Olympics |
55.42s |
Stood as the National Record for 42 years. |
|
Vithya Ramraj |
Asian Games 2026 (Nagoya) |
54.75s |
New Indian National Record & Asian Games Bronze |
Relentless Execution on the Track
Running in lane 5, Vithya paced her race masterfully through the backstretch, maintaining clean hurdle clearances to stay neck-and-neck with the lead pack. A explosive final 100m push enabled her to surge past the competition onto the podium, securing both an Asian Games medal and a historic entry into the record books.
