In an inspiring feat of determination, Indian racewalker Ram Baboo has secured his place in the 2024 Paris Olympics. His bronze medal triumph at the Dudinska 50 Meet not only marked a personal best but also breached the Olympic qualifying standard for the men’s 20km race walk.
Ram Baboo shows great resilience
Baboo’s journey has been one of resilience. He faced the challenges posed by harsh weather conditions during the Dudinska 50 event. Undeterred, he clocked an impressive 1 hour and 20 minutes (1:20:00), surpassing the Paris Olympics qualifying mark set at 1:20:10.
“The weather conditions were a little harsh here today as it was raining and the temperature dropped to nine degrees Celsius which is very cold for me,” Ram Baboo told The Bridge over the phone from Slovakia.
Talking about his performance, Ram Baboo said, “I clocked 42:21 in the first 10km and then a thought passed through my mind what if I mess up in the last few km?”
“But I kept running suppressing my thoughts and went all out in the last 10 km,” he added.
“I tried my best at the National Championships too but failed at that time. I clocked 1:21:04 there and finished sixth. I entered the tournament as I was confident that I could break the Olympic qualification mark,” said Ram Baboo.
“I had only two options today – Olympic qualification or excuses such as rain and cold weather. But I am glad that I breached the mark and qualified for Paris,” said Ram, who recently won a medal at the Asian Games 2022 in 35km racewalking.
His previous personal best of 1:21:04 was achieved at the 2024 South Asian and Indian Race Walking Championships in Chandigarh. The road to Paris is not without further challenges. Each national federation can send a maximum of three athletes for the men’s 20km race walk event. The final selection rests with the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which will decide the Indian team composition in June.
