| Nationality: | Indian |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1990 |
| Country: | India |
| Sport: | Track and field |
| Event: | 5000 metres 10,000 metres |
| Pb: | 13:35.69 (London 2017) |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
| Updated: | 30 December 2017 |
Govindan Lakshmanan (born 5 June 1990 in Sokkurani, Pudukottai district, Tamil Nadu, India[1]) is an Indian distance runner. On the track, he mostly competes over 5000 metres and 10,000 metres,[2] but has also run the half marathon competitively.[3] [4]
Lakshmanan lost his father to a car accident when he was six, and was adopted by his neighbour S. Loganathan. His mother Jayalakshmi is a small farmer. Under Loganathan's tutelage, Lakshmanan began training in long-distance running when he was 16,[2] along with the former's daughter Suriya, in Youth Sports Club in the village of Kavinadu near the town of Pudukkottai in Tamil Nadu.[5]
He represented India at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, placing 74th overall. Competing over 5000 metres at the 2015 Wuhan Asian Championships, Lakshmanan won the bronze medal with a time of 13:36.62.[6] He won the 10,000 metres silver medal with a time of 29:42.81.[7] At the next Championships, he won the 5000 metres gold medal with a time of 14:54.48, becoming only the third Indian to win gold in the event at the Championships, and the first since 1993. The time was however the slowest in the Championships' history for a winner. The victory earned him a qualification for the London World Championships that year.[8] In London, he ran his personal best of 13:35.69.
At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia; he won bronze medal but was later stripped as he was disqualified for lane infringement.[9]