Dharun Ayyasamy
Indian track athlete (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Dharun at the 2016 Rio Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 31 December 1996 Tiruppur, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
Events | 400 m, 400 m hurdles |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal bests | 400 m: 46.30 (2016) 400 m hurdles: 48.80 NR (2019) |
Medal record | |
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.
