Vikas Gowda Explained

Vikas Gowda
Fullname:Vikas Shive Gowda
Nationality:Indian
Birth Date:1983 7, df=yes
Birth Place:Mysore, Karnataka, India[1]
Height:205 cm[2]
Weight:133 kg (2016)
Sport:Athletics
Event:Discus throw
Club:North Carolina Tar Heels
Team:India
Pb:66.28 m NR
(April 2012)
Updated:29 March 2024

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.

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

Representing
2002World Junior ChampionshipsKingston, Jamaica8thShot put (6 kg)19.30 m
12thDiscus (1.75 kg)54.46 m
2004Athens, Greece15thDiscus61.39 m
2005Asian ChampionshipsIncheon, South Koreabgcolor=silver2ndDiscus62.84 m
2006Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Australia5thShot put18.46 m
6thDiscus60.08 m
Asian GamesDoha, Qatar6thDiscus58.28 m
2008Beijing, China22ndDiscus60.69 m
2010Asian GamesGuangzhou, China3rdDiscus63.13 m
Commonwealth GamesNew Delhi, Indiabgcolor=silver2ndDiscus63.69 m
2011Asian ChampionshipsKobe, Japanbgcolor=silver2ndDiscus61.58 m
World ChampionshipsDaegu, South Korea7thDiscus64.05 m
2012Olympic GamesLondon, United Kingdom8thDiscus64.79 m
2013Asian ChampionshipsPune, Indiabgcolor=gold1stDiscus64.90 m
2014Commonwealth GamesGlasgow, United Kingdombgcolor=gold1stDiscus63.64 m
Asian GamesIncheon, South Koreabgcolor=silver2ndDiscus62.58 m
2015Asian ChampionshipsWuhan, Chinabgcolor=gold1stDiscus62.03 m
World ChampionshipsBeijing, China9thDiscus62.24 m
2016Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil28th (q)Discus58.99 m
2017Asian ChampionshipsBhubaneswar, India3rdDiscus60.81 m

Notes and References

  1. Vikas Gowda . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418054347/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/go/vikas-gowda-1.html . 2020-04-18.
  2. https://web.ahive.org/web/20160826083620/https://www.rio2016.com/en/athlete/vikas-gowda-shive-gowda Vikas Gowda
  3. http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/biographies/country=IND/athcode=189859/index.html#Gowda%20Vikas Vikas Gowda
  4. http://www.tarheeltimes.com/article9671.aspx Tar Heels' Vikas Gowda wins discus title
  5. News: Gowda makes the cut for the discus throw final. 6 August 2012. The Times Of India.
  6. Web site: London Olympics 2012 Discus Throw Results . 6 August 2012 . london2012.com/ . 19 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210419082153/https://www.olympic.org/london-2012/athletics/discus-throw-men . dead .
  7. News: Vikas Gowda wins first gold for India at Asian Athletics Championships . The Times Of India . 4 July 2013.
  8. News: Gowda makes the cut for discus throw final. 6 August 2012 . Chennai, India. The Hindu. Kamesh. Srinivasan.
  9. Web site: Vikas Gowda is first Indian man to clinch athletics gold in 56 years. India Today . 2 August 2014. 2 August 2014 .
  10. Web site: Gowda qualifies for Olympics after revision of entry standards. 12 December 2015 . 9 February 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160216095631/http://do4news.com/sports/gowda-qualifies-for-olympics-after-revision-of-entry-standards/ . 16 February 2016 .
  11. Web site: 2023-06-09 . Sreeshankar Murali finishes third in Paris Diamond League . 2023-08-23 . ESPN . en.