The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland, the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic events, some of which were included as exhibition events. Much of the event was played in extremely heavy rainfall.
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar is an Indian politician and former sportswoman. She served as member of parliament of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from the Krishnagar constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha. She was defeated in the 2009 Indian general election by the actor turned politician Tapas Paul of the Trinamool Congress. She had been reportedly inactive in politics following her defeat. In 2019, she herself pledged support to the All India Trinamool Congress and then joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the following year.
Dame Valerie Kasanita Adams is a retired New Zealand shot putter. She is a four-time World champion, four-time World Indoor champion, two-time Olympic, three-time Commonwealth Games champion and twice IAAF Continental Cup winner. She has a personal best throw of 21.24 metres (69.7 ft) outdoors and 20.98 metres (68.8 ft) indoors. These marks are Oceanian, Commonwealth and New Zealand national records. She also holds the Oceanian junior record (18.93 m) and the Oceanian youth record (17.54 m), as well as the World Championships record, World Indoor Championships record and Commonwealth Games record.
Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha is an Indian sports administrator and retired track and field athlete. Usha was born in Koothali near Perambra in Kozhikode district, Kerala. She grew up in Payyoli. Usha has been associated with Indian athletics since 1979. She has won 4 gold medals and 7 silver medals in the Asian Games. She is often associated as the "Queen of Indian track and field".
Jaspal Rana is an Indian sport shooter and pistol coach. He contested mainly in the 25 m Centre Fire Pistol category. In a major accomplishment at the 2006 Asian Games, Rana won three gold medals and equaled the world record in 25 m Center Fire Pistol, competing in his fourth Asian Games since 1994 Asian Games. Rana is also a Commonwealth Games medalist, winning gold medals at the 1998, 2002, and 2006 Commonwealth Games. One of his most successful events was the 2002 Commonwealth Games, where he won six medals including the gold for Men's 25m Center Fire Pistol.
Honorary Captain Vijay Kumar Sharma, AVSM, SM is an Indian sport shooter. He won the silver medal in the individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol event at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Kumar hails from Barsar village of Hamirpur district of Himachal Pradesh and is a retired Subedar Major in the Dogra Regiment Indian Army, who was later promoted to Honorary Captain Rank. Vijay Kumar is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest initiative. He is the only Indian to have won a medal at 25m rapid Fire Pistol. He has been posted at Indian Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Mhow since 2003 where he is being coached by the Russian Pavel Smirnov.
Seema Punia-Antil is an Indian discus thrower.Her personal best throw is 64.84 m,achieved in Kyiv in 2004.
Shiny Kurisingal Wilson is a retired Indian athlete. She has been a National Champion in 800 metres for 14 years. Shiny Abraham Wilson represented India more than 75 times in international competition. She holds the added distinction of representing Asia in four World Cups. She is also perhaps the only athlete to have taken part in six Asian Track & Field Meets in a row beginning 1985 in Jakarta. During this period she won seven gold, five silver and two bronze medals in the Asian competitions. She collected a total of 18 gold and two silver medals from the seven South Asian Federation (SAF) Meets she has competed.
Devendra Jhajharia is an Indian Paralympic javelin thrower competing in F46 events. He is the first Indian Paralympics player to win two gold medals at the Paralympics. He won his first gold in the javelin throw at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, becoming the second gold medalist at the Paralympics for his country. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, he won a second gold medal in the same event, bettering his previous record. Devendra is currently being supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. He becomes India's most decorated Paralympic player by winning his third medal, a silver at the 2020 Summer Paralympics at Tokyo. In 2024, he was elected president of the Paralympic Committee of India.
Geetika Jakhar is an Indian wrestler. Geetika comes from a family of sportspersons. She got Arjuna Award - 2006. She is the only women wrestler in the history of Indian sports to be judged the Best Wrestler of the 2005 Commonwealth Games and also who won medals at Asian Games 2006 and 2014 respectively. Geetika is the first woman wrestler being awarded with the Arjuna Award by Government of India in 2006. She is also a proud recipient of Bhim Award by government of Haryana. For her extraordinary achievements in the field of sports, the government of Haryana has appointed her to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police in 2008.
Anil Kumar is a well renowned Indian male discus thrower with his personal best throw of 64.37 metres attained in July, 2004 in Szombathely, Hungary. He received Arjuna Award in 2004 for his performances at Asia level. He is also bestowed with the Bhim Award by State Government of Haryana. He led the Indian athletics contingent for Asian Athletics Grand Prix Series held at Colombo, Bangkok and Manila in June 2003.
Prashanti Singh is a shooting guard for the Indian national women's basketball team. She is first basketball player in India conferred with National Civilian Award Padma Shri in 2019. She has been honoured with the Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in 2017. She has also been conferred with the prestigious Rani Laxmi Bai Bravery Award 2016–17 in the field of sports by Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Saraswati Dey-Saha is an Indian former track and field sprinter from Chittamara, Belonia Tripura. She holds the current 200 metres national record of 22.82 seconds set at the National Circuit Athletic Meet held in Ludhiana on 28 August 2002. She broke the previous mark held by Rachita Mistry since July 2000. In doing so, Saraswati became the first Indian woman to break 23-second barrier in 200 metres. The highlight of her career was the gold medal she won at the 2002 Busan Asian Games.
Pinki Pramanik is an Indian former track and field athlete who specialised in 400- and 800-metre events. As part of the national 4×400 metres relay team, Pramanik won the silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and the gold medal at the 2005 Asian Indoor Games and 2006 Asian Games. She won three gold medals at the 2006 South Asian Games, winning the 400 and 800m events and as a member of the relay team.
Jaisha Orchatteri Puthiya Veetil, commonly known as O. P. Jaisha, is an Indian track and field athlete from Kerala. She is the current national record holder in the marathon, a distinction she achieved by clocking 2:34:43 at the 2015 World Championships in Beijing. In the process she bettered her own mark of 2:37:29, set at the 2015 Mumbai Marathon. She is also a former national record holder in the 3000 metres steeplechase.
Sudha Singh is an Indian Olympic athlete in the 3000 metres steeplechase event. A national record holder in the event, she has represented India at international events since 2005. Singh is an Asian Champion in the discipline and has won two gold and four silver medals at varying editions of the Asian Games and the continental championships.
In India, the Athletics was introduced during the period of the British Raj. The sport is governed by the Athletics Federation of India, which was formed in 1946.
Deepa Malik is an Indian para athlete from Haryana. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games. She won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put.
Annu Rani Dharayan is an Indian javelin thrower. She was the first Indian woman to reach the javelin throw final at the World Championships in 2019. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, she made history by becoming the first Indian woman javelin thrower to win a medal, a bronze. Rani is the first Indian woman javelin thrower to win a gold at the Asian Games.
Manu Bhaker is an Indian sport shooter. She has won 2 medals at the Olympic Games, 7 medals at the Asian Games and Asian Championships, and 21 medals at the World Championships and World Cups. She gained wide recognition after her performance at the 2024 Olympics where she became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympics medal by winning a bronze in the 10m pistol event. She won another bronze in the 10m pistol mixed team event, thus becoming the first Indian to win two medals in a single Olympic Games.
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