Race walker Priyanka sets national record

Commonwealth Games medallist race walker Priyanka Goswami set the national record in the women’s 35km event during the Dudinska 50 in Slovakia. Goswami clocked 2 hours, 56 minutes, 34 seconds on Saturday to finish 11th in the 44th edition of Dudinska 50, a World Athletics Race Walking Tour Gold Label meet that is held annually on the streets of Dudince in March. Her previous personal best was 3:13:19.

A two-time Olympian, Goswami bettered the previous national record of 2:57:54 set by Manju Rani at the 2023 National Open Race Walking Championships in Ranchi.

Paula Milena Torres of Ecuador won the women’s event with a time of 2:44:26. Peru’s Kimberly García (2:45:59) and Poland’s Katarzyna Zdzieblo (2:46:59) took the second and third positions, respectively.

The 29-year-old Goswami also holds the 20km race walk national record of 1:28:45, which she had set at the 2021 National Race Walking Championships in Ranchi. She had won silver in the 10,000km race walk event at the 2022 CWG.

Meanwhile, national record holder Akashdeep Singh finished sixth in the men’s 20km race walk event with a time of 1:24:13.