Ram Baboo of India clinched the bronze medal in the men’s 20km race walk event at the Dudinska 50 2024 athletics competition held in Dudince, Slovakia, on Saturday. His remarkable performance not only earned him a spot on the podium but also saw him surpass the qualifying standard for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Clocking an impressive time of one hour and 20 minutes (1:20:00), the 24-year-old athlete breached the Paris Olympics qualifying standard for the event, which was set at 1:20:10.
Securing the gold medal was Peru’s Cesar Augusto Rodriguez, who completed the race with a time of 1:19:41, while Ecuador’s Brian Daniel Pintado secured the silver with a timing of 1:19:44.
Baboo’s performance at the Dudinska 50 also marked a personal milestone as he set a new personal best record. His previous best time in the 20km race walk category stood at 1:21:04, achieved at the 2024 South Asian and Indian Race Walking Championships in Chandigarh earlier this year.
An accomplished athlete, Ram Baboo adds another accolade to his resume, having previously secured a bronze medal at the Asian Games. He now joins the esteemed ranks of seven Indian race walkers who have met the Paris 2024 Olympics qualifying standard. The list includes Akshdeep Singh, Vikas Singh, Paramjeet Bisht, Suraj Panwar, Servin Sebastian, and Arshpreet Singh, all of whom achieved this feat earlier.
However, with each national federation permitted to send a maximum of three athletes for the men’s 20km race walk event at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Baboo’s qualification marks just one step in the Olympic qualification process. The final selection for the National Olympic Committee (NOC) team for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games rests with the respective NOCs.
