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Nitin Gupta created history at the 20th National Youth Athletics Championships 2025, becoming the first Indian to complete the 5000m racewalk in under 20 minutes, as per Nnis Sports. The 17-year-old Uttar Pradesh athlete finished with a time of 19:24.48, setting a new national record and winning the gold medal at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Bihar on Monday, March 10.
This is not the first time Nitin has set a national record. In December 2024, he had clocked 20:01.64 in Bhubaneswar, which was the previous best mark. He also held the meet record of 20:28.84, which he had set in June 2024 in Bilaspur. By breaking both records in Patna, Nitin has shown tremendous improvement in just a few months.
Nitin was in a league of his own, finishing far ahead of his closest competitors. Tushar Panwar of Uttarakhand secured silver with a time of 21:08.29, while his state-mate Ritul Parihar clinched bronze with 21:14.97. None of them came close to challenging Nitin’s pace.
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His record-breaking performance also confirmed his place in the Youth Asian Championships, where he will represent India on the international stage.
Nitin Gupta becomes the third-best U18 5000m racewalker in the world
Nitin Gupta’s incredible performance places him among the top three fastest Under-18 racewalkers in the world. His timing of 19:24.48 ranks third behind Russia’s Sergey Shirobokov (19:00.4h), who competes as an Authorized Neutral Athlete, and Australia’s Isaac Beacroft (19:23.96). For an Indian athlete to be among the world’s top three in any discipline is a remarkable achievement.
Nitin trains under Basant Rana at ASI Pune, where he shares the track with some of India's top racewalkers, including Ram Babu and Servin Sebastian.
His sub-20-minute finish is a sign that he has the potential to compete at the highest level in the future. If he continues to improve at this pace, he could soon be representing India in senior competitions on the world stage.
