Race walker Ram Baboo breaches Paris Games qualification mark

Ram Baboo

India's Ram Baboo on Saturday achieved the Paris Olympics men's 20km race qualification standard, clocking a personal best time of 1:20:00 at the Dudinska 50 Meet in Slovakia. Baboo, a bronze winner in the 35km walk race at the Hangzhou Asian Games, gave a good account of himself in this Race Walking Tour Gold-Level event finishing third.

This is the first time an Indian athlete is finishing on the podium in this meet. The cutoff mark for Olympic qualification is 1:20:10.

Cesar Rodriguez of Peru finished top with a timing of 1:19:41, while Ecuador's Brian Pintado came second clocking 1:19:44. The 24-year-old Baboo is also the seventh male walker from the country to breach the above-mentioned qualification mark.

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