Gopal Saini (born 1954) is a former Indian

middle distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 15 ...

. He held the national record in 3000 meters

Steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

which was unbeaten for 37 years. Saini set the 3000m Steeplechase record (8:30.88) in Tokyo,Japan on 5 June 1981 which was then broken by Avinash Sable by clocking 8:29.80 at the 2018 National Open Championships in

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar i ...

. Sable set a new national record of 8:11.20 in August 2022 at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England b ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

.Saini represented in 1980 22nd olympic games in

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

for men's 5000m rac

He hails from

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...

. He was conferred

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 1981 for his achievements. He practiced on terrains for strength of legs. He currently works in SBBJ and also owns a restaurant in

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known a ...

References

Indian Records
1954 births Living people Indian male middle-distance runners Indian male steeplechase runners Athletes from Rajasthan Rajasthani people Olympic athletes of India Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1982 Asian Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Games silver medalists for India Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games {{India-athletics-bio-stub