Ram Singh Yadav (born 7 November 1984) is an Indian
marathon
The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
runner. Ram represented
India at the 2012 Summer Olympics
India competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. A total of 83 athletes, 60 men and 23 women, competed in 13 sports. Men's field hockey was the only team-based sport in which India had its representation in th ...
, London. He achieved the B qualification standard (2:18:00) by clocking a time of 2:16:59 at the 2012
Mumbai Marathon
The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as th ...
, which is also his best performance in this event. He is the second Indian athlete ever to be qualified for the marathon event of the Olympics. Before Yadav,
Shivnath Singh was the Indian athlete who participated in the
1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
in
Montreal. Ram is a
havildar in the
Indian Army.
Personal life
Ram is from Babiyan village,
Varanasi,
Uttar Pradesh. His father was a fruit-seller in
Mumbai. Ram married Urmila Yadav in 2001 and they have three children, Amit, Ankit and Alok. He is a havildar in the Indian Army and currently posted in
Hyderabad’s Artillery Centre. He trains at Pune-based Army Sports Institute.
Olympic qualification
Ram missed the B qualification standard of 2:18:00 in 2008 during the 2009 Mumbai Marathon for
Beijing Olympics'
marathon event by few seconds, and thus did not qualify. He completed his race in 2:18:23 and finished 10th in the final standings. But president of the
Indian Olympic Association,
Suresh Kalmadi, mistakenly announced that Ram had qualified for the Olympics, which was later corrected by the organisers.
For the 2012 Summer Olympics, Ram underwent training for 45 days at a high-altitude training centre in
Coonoor town of
Nilgiris district,
Tamil Nadu. 2012 Mumbai Marathon was the first event he took part in after his training, the same event where he failed to claim an Olympic berth four years ago. Ram took 2:16:59 to finish the race, well under the B qualification standard of 2:18:00. He finished 12th overall in the final standings.
2:16:59 is also the personal best of Ram. Ram is only the second Indian athlete ever to be qualified for the marathon event of the Olympics. Shivnath Singh of
Bihar was the first Indian athlete to participate in the Olympics marathon. He participated twice in the Olympic Games—
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
and
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
.
Olympic Games
At the London
2012 Olympic Games
The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, he completed the marathon with a time of 2:30:06 which placed him 78th in the final rankings. From a field of 105 starters, as many as 20 runners failed to finish the grueling marathon final, which was won by Uganda's
Stephen Kiprotich in a time of 2:08:01.
ram-singh-yadav-finishes-78th-in-marathon
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See also
* India at the Olympics
* India at the 2012 Summer Olympics
India competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. A total of 83 athletes, 60 men and 23 women, competed in 13 sports. Men's field hockey was the only team-based sport in which India had its representation in th ...
* List of Indian records in athletics
The following are the national records in athletics in India. Some of the records are maintained by Athletics Federation of India (AFI). Outdoor times for track races between 200 meters to 10,000 meters are set on 400-meter unbanked tracks. Indoor ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yadav, Ram Singh
1980 births
Living people
Indian male marathon runners
Indian Army personnel
People from Varanasi district
Athletes from Varanasi
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for India
Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games
Asian Games competitors for India
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