Mumbai: Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath became the first Indian runner to break the 1:45 barrier in men’s 800m, clocking 1:44.93 and smashing his own national record in the Memoriał Czesława Cybulskiego in Poznań, Poland on Saturday.
Afsal, who won a silver medal in men’s 800m in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, finished sixth in Heat A/1 of the event with his personal best timing of 1:44.93. With this, Mohammed Afsal improved on the previous mark of 1:45.61 set by himself at the UAE Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai in 2025.
The first three spots in the race were taken by Polish runners with Maciel Wyderka winning the A/1 Heat with a time of 1,44:23, which is his personal best and also the Meet Record. Filip Ostrowski came second in 1.44:25 while his compatriot Patryk Sieradzki ended third in 1.44:26.
The Czeslaw Cybulski Memorial is being held as part of the World Athletics Continental Tour Silver. Started in 2019, the meet is organised in memory of coach Czesław Cybulski, who graduated from the Secondary Sports School in Gdansk in 1955 and then worked as a trainer and physical education teacher.
Initially, he specialised in sprints; later, throwing became his domain. The coach was closely associated with the City of Poznan, and from 1968 with AZS Poznań.
The 29-year-old Afsal, who won a silver medal in the men’s 800m in the 2019 South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal, hails from Palappuram in Palakkad district of Kerala. In recent times, he has been with the Reliance Foundation, training in Bengaluru.
He works as a Junior Warrant Officer in the Indian Air Force.
Afsal first came into the limelight in September 2013 by winning a gold medal at the first Asian School Track and Field Championships at Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia.
(IANS)
