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| Full name | Sriram Singh Shekhawat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Indian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1948-11-14)14 November 1948 (age 77) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Branch |  Indian Army | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank |  Honorary Captain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unit | Rajputana Rifles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards | Padma Shri | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | 800 metres | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Rajputana Rifles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbests | 1:45.77NR (Montreal 1976) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Honorary CaptainSriram Singh Shekhawat (born 14 November 1948) is a formerIndianmiddle-distance runner.
Sriram Singh joinedRajputana Rifles in 1968 where he came under the influence of the coachIlyas Babar. Babar persuaded him to shift his focus from400 metres to800 metres.
In the1970 Asian Games inBangkok, he was beaten to the second place in the 800 meters byJimmy Crampton ofBurma. Singh was eliminated in the heats of theMunich Olympics in 1972 but his time of 1:47.7 bettered Crampton's Asian record. Prior to the competition he had never run onsynthetic tracks. He improved his time to 1:47.6 to win the gold in the1974 Asian Games.
The high point of Sriram Singh's career was the 800m race in1976 Montreal Olympics. The qualifying round, the semifinal and the final were run on successive days. In the first race, he broke his own Asian record with a time of 1:45.86[1] In the semifinal, he came fourth in a time of 1:46.42[2]
In the final, Singh made a huge rush from the break at 300 metres to take lead at the bell with a time of 50.85 ahead ofCubanAlberto Juantorena's 50.90. Juantorena caught up with him around the 550m mark and won in a world record time of 1:43.50. Singh faded away in the home straight to finish seventh with a time of 1:45.77. Juantorena later attributed his world record to Sriram's front running.
Sriram Singh's time stood as theAsian record until it was broken byLee Jin-il in 1994 and as a national record for 42 years until it was broken byJinson Johnson in June 2018.[3]
In 1973, he was awarded the prestigiousArjuna Award, as recognition to his extraordinary achievements in athletics, and the following year was awarded the prestigious civil award ofPadma Shri as recognition to his contribution to the field of sport.
He retained his 800m gold medal in the 1978 Asian Games (1:48.80), but was eliminated in the semifinal of the same event in theMoscow Olympics.[4]He also won 800m silver medal in1973 Asian Athletics Championships and three gold medals for 400m, 800m and 4×400m relay in1975 Asian Athletics Championships.
Post retirement he has mentored talented youth in the sport.
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Asian Games | Bangkok, Thailand | 2nd | 800 m |
| 1974 | Asian Games | Tehran, Iran | 1st | 800 m |
| 1978 | Asian Games | Bangkok, Thailand | 1st | 800 m |
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