Sawan Barwal sets new Indian national record in marathon

BENGALURU: Sawan Barwal fell twice in quick succession just about 150 metres from the finish line. As the seconds ticked past, a volunteer helped the Armyman to get back on his feet. The soldier from Himachal Pradesh now used the last few ounces of energy in his body to cross the finish line in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 58 seconds at the NN Marathon in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, on Sunday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!For the 28-year-old making his marathon debut, it was a dream finish as he eclipsed the 47-year-old mark of 2:12:00 set by Shivanath Singh on May 28, 1978 in Jalandhar. “Today’s marathon was a memorable experience. I felt strong and in control until around 40 km, I was progressing at 2:09 pace but the last 2 km didn’t go as planned. I even fell twice before the finish line due to strong cold wind, but I’m proud that I kept getting up and finished the race,” said Barwal, who also holds the national half marathon record at 1:02 set in New Delhi in 2024.“I’m extremely happy to have broken the 47-year-old national record, even if it’s by a small margin. That means a lot to me. A special thanks to the volunteer near the finish line who helped me get back up and continue, truly grateful for that support. I would like to thank the entire team at Reliance Foundation, AFI, ASI, MRC and my training partners Gopi (Thonakal) and Man (Singh) for their constant support,” he added.While Barwal finished in 20th spot, Gopi, the second Indian in the fray, clocked 2:13:16 to finish 23rd. Ethiopia’s Guye Adola won the race in 2:03:54.