Exclusive! Army’s National Record Holder Gulveer Singh Firmly Sets Sight on 27-minute Barrier For 10,000m Track Race

Add as a preferred source on Google

Army's Asian Games bronze medalist and national record holder in men's 10,000m track race, Gulveer Singh, is firmly looking ahead to achieve a new milestone in his running career by breaking the 27-minute barrier for the 10,000m next year.

Earlier this year the 26 years old became the first Indian runner to break 28-minute for the 10,000m track event. His personal best and national record for 10,000m is 27:14:88 seconds.

"My practice was on the right track in the 2024 season, and it gave a big boost to my confidence," the army runner told Mykhel over the phone. "The next goal is to crack 27 minutes for the 10,000m event and qualify for the World Championships."

To achieve his goal he has to clip nearly 15 seconds of his personal best in the 10,000m. His first race of 2025 season will be in March in the USA. "Next three months will be crucial for me to stay healthy and improve my personal best in the 10,000m event," the 26 years old runner added.

The automatic qualification time for the 2025 World Championships in the men's 10,000m event is 27:00:00. While 13:01:00 is the qualification time for men's 5,000m. The athletes can also qualify through the world ranking system. The qualification window for longer track race started February 25, 2024. The deadline to qualify is August 24, 2025.

The army's international runner recently clocked 27:14:88 seconds to improve his own national record of 27:41:81 during a continental tour in Japan. Earlier in September he improved national 5,000m track record to 13:11.82 seconds. Hailing from district Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh he plans to focus on a 25-lap race.

"My goal is to achieve automatic qualification time for the 10,000m event to compete at 13-21 September 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo," Singh added.

Blessed with a baby girl, Singh plans to take a short break before starting his campaign to achieve his target of 27-minute barrier. Singh was a member of the core group of national middle and long distance runners, who were based out of Colorado Springs in USA in 2024.

He extensively competed on the USA circuit and was successful in improving both 10,000m and 5,000m national records. "Local weather conditions were conducive for distance running in Colorado Springs," Singh said. "Abundance of running trails in Colorado Springs and faster recovery was key to improving my overall performance on the track."

He however, missed the 2024 Paris Olympic Games held between July 26 to August 11. "I tried hard but couldn't achieve a qualification time of 27:00:00," was his modest response to missing the quadrennial games. He also failed to earn a ticket to Paris through the world ranking system.

But he exuded confidence after improving 10,000m record and aims to further build on the good work done in the last 12 months. "I've have been gradually improving my performance on the track since March 2024. I hope to continue my good run next season too," he said.