BHUBANESWAR, Nov 10: A staggering 100 personal best timings were registered by athletes of Odisha�s High Performance Centre for athletics in the unique �performance graded races� at the Kalinga Stadium here.
The sprint and middle distance fest that took place between October 24 to November 8, was contested in a uniquely designed concept in which age and gender weren�t the basis of groupings.
The centre is a collaboration between the state government and the Reliance Foundation.
Among the standout performers at the competitions was Amlan Borgohain, who recorded a personal best timing of 21.20 seconds in the 200m final, a press release from the centre stated.
The 22-year-old recorded a personal best in the 100m as well, making it his sixth in six races over the competition series (three each in the 100m and 200m). His efforts won him the �Best Overall Performance Award�.
�Amlan�s time of 21.20 in the 200m is a significant improvement on his personal best of 21.89 set prior to joining the HPC,� the centre�s head coach James Hillier, who selected Borgohain after a four-week trial in April to join the HPC, said.
�His progress has been somewhat meteoric, making huge improvements in all areas of his training over the past 7 months,� he added.
Sprint hurdler Sabita Toppo was another athlete who put up an impressive display. The 15-year-old achieved four personal best timings in six races, including three in the 100m hurdles event.
Due to the restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the four competition series was restricted to 29 athletes from the HPC, who are split between the monitoring cohort and the academy.
Athletes in the cohort are identified as being a maximum of five years away from winning a national level medal. � PTI
