Vikas Gowda

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Vikas Gowda
Vikas Gowda 2011.jpg
Gowda in 2011
Personal information
Full nameVikas Shive Gowda
Nationality Indian
Born (1983-07-05) 5 July 1983 (age 40)
Mysore, Karnataka, India [1]
Height205 cm (6 ft 9 in) [2]
Weight133 kg (293 lb) (2016) [2]
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s) Discus throw
ClubNorth Carolina Tar Heels [1]
TeamIndia
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)66.28 m NR
(April 2012)
Medal record
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
Asian Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2014 Incheon Discus
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Guangzhou Discus
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2014 Glasgow Discus
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2010 New Delhi Discus
Asian Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2013 Pune Discus
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Wuhan Discus
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Kobe Discus
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2005 Incheon Discus
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Bhubaneswar Discus
Updated on 6 July 2017.

Vikas Shive Gowda (born 5 July 1983) is an Indian discus thrower and shot putter. [3] Born in Mysore, he grew up in Frederick, Maryland in the United States. His father, Shive Gowda, coached the 1988 Indian Olympic track team. Vikas Gowda is a Padma Shri awardee in 2017.

Contents

He is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the 2006 US NCAA National Champion in discus. [4]

His personal best throw is 66.28 meters which is also Indian national record in discus throw, achieved in 2012. He contested at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to reach the finals after finishing 22nd in the qualifiers, with a throw of 60.69 m. In 2012 London Olympics, Vikas qualified for the finals, at the fifth place, with a throw of 65.20 m [5] [6] and finished eighth in the final.

He won his first gold medal in Asian Championships in 2013 in Pune, with a throw of 64.90 meters. [7] [8] He won the discus throw event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which made him the second Indian man to win a Commonwealth gold medal, 56 years after Milkha Singh. [9]

After the qualification standard was lowered, he qualified for the 2016 Olympics in the discus, making this his fourth Olympics. [10]

He was the first ever Indian athlete to finish in the top 3 of a Diamond League meet, and as of 2022, only two other Indian athletes had matched his feat. [11]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 8thShot put (6 kg) 19.30 m
12thDiscus (1.75 kg) 54.46 m
2004 Olympic Games Athens, Greece15thDiscus 61.39 m
2005 Asian Championships Incheon, South Korea2ndDiscus 62.84 m
2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia5thShot put 18.46 m
6thDiscus 60.08 m
Asian Games Doha, Qatar 6thDiscus 58.28 m
2008 Olympic Games Beijing, China22ndDiscus 60.69 m
2010 Asian Games Guangzhou, China3rdDiscus 63.13 m
Commonwealth Games New Delhi, India2ndDiscus 63.69 m
2011 Asian Championships Kobe, Japan2ndDiscus 61.58 m
World Championships Daegu, South Korea7thDiscus 64.05 m
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom8thDiscus 64.79 m
2013 Asian Championships Pune, India1stDiscus 64.90 m
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom1stDiscus 63.64 m
Asian Games Incheon, South Korea2ndDiscus 62.58 m
2015 Asian Championships Wuhan, China 1stDiscus 62.03 m
World Championships Beijing, China 9thDiscus 62.24 m
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 28th (q)Discus 58.99 m
2017 Asian Championships Bhubaneswar, India 3rdDiscus 60.81 m

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References

  1. 1 2 Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Vikas Gowda". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 Vikas Gowda [ permanent dead link ]. rio2016.com
  3. Vikas Gowda. IAAF
  4. Tar Heels' Vikas Gowda wins discus title. Tar Heel Times (10 June 2006)
  5. "Gowda makes the cut for the discus throw final". The Times Of India. 6 August 2012.
  6. "London Olympics 2012 Discus Throw Results". london2012.com/. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  7. "Vikas Gowda wins first gold for India at Asian Athletics Championships". The Times Of India. 4 July 2013.
  8. Srinivasan, Kamesh (6 August 2012). "Gowda makes the cut for discus throw final". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  9. "Vikas Gowda is first Indian man to clinch athletics gold in 56 years". India Today. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  10. "Gowda qualifies for Olympics after revision of entry standards". 12 December 2015. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  11. "Sreeshankar Murali finishes third in Paris Diamond League". ESPN. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.