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Animesh logged an impressive effort of 20.55s in the U23 200m event to finish fourth at the Monaco Diamond League.
Indian Athlete Animesh Kujur. (X)
Indian athlete Animesh Kujur scripted history by becoming the first Indian sprinter to compete at a Diamond League event with his participation in the U23 200m race at the Monaco Diamond League on Friday.
Animesh logged an impressive effort of 20.55s to finish fourth at the Meeting Herculis EBS to extend his strong showing this year.
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The 22-year-old, who trains at the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High Performance Centre in Bhubaneswar, has had a sensational season—setting multiple national records across events.
The sprinter from Chhattisgarh’s Ghuitangar village timed 10.18s in 100m, wind-assisted 20.27s and a standalone 20.32s in 200m and a time of 38.69 s in the 4x100m relay since the beginning of the year.
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Animesh’s Recent Form
Animesh recently shattered the 100m national record at the Dromia International Sprints Meet in Greece, becoming the first Indian man to dip under 10.20s. He clocked 10.18s, surpassing the previous mark of 10.20s set by fellow Reliance Foundation athlete Gurindervir Singh. Earlier this year, he also clinched bronze in the 200m at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea.
Animesh is currently on a 6-week training-cum-competition exposure trip in Europe with his coach Martin Owens, Head Coach at the Odisha Reliance Foundation High Performance Centre, and physiotherapist Jayesh Bane. The team has established their training base at the Swiss Olympic Centre in Magglingen and has competed in high-quality meets in Geneva and Athens so far.
Looking ahead, Animesh will compete at the Spitzen Leichtathletik in Lucerne, Switzerland, on 15th July. Following that, he will represent India at the World University Games in Germany in the 200m and 4x100m events.
Monaco Diamond League
The Monaco Diamond League, held at the Stade Louis II, is renowned as one of the world’s most prestigious athletics meets. This year’s event featured nine Paris 2024 Olympic Champions, including sprint legends Noah Lyles and Letsile Tebogo, along with pole vault world record holder Armand Duplantis.
Lyles returned to the track in emphatic fashion as he blazed to the finish line in the 200m event to clinch the top spot, while Julian Alfred raced to the top podium place in the 200m event.
Lyles registered an effort of 19.88sec to edge out Letsile Tebogo, while Alfred clocked 10.79sec to pip Jacious Sears in the women’s category.
Dutch athlete Femke Bol clinched the top spot in the women’s 400m hurdles with her maiden win at the principality as she edged out American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone with a time of 51.95sec.
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