India Defends Title At Hirosaki 2026, Creates History In Asia-Oceania 24-Hour Championship

India retained its Asia-Oceania 24-hour ultramarathon crown in Hirosaki, Japan, on 23–24 May 2026, with its strongest showing under the Athletic Federation of India. The men swept the individual podium, claimed team gold with a continental record, and the women earned team bronze and a new national record.

In the men's race, Amar Singh Devanda took gold with 282.881 km over 226 laps, setting a new Indian national record. Teammate Geeno Antony claimed silver with 272.894 km and 218 laps, while Saurav Kumar Ranjan secured bronze after covering 260.058 km across 208 laps.

The Indian men's team totalled 815.833 km for gold, an Asia-Oceania record and the highest distance by any Asian country at any IAU championship. Japan scored 754.726 km for silver, while Australia finished with 732.525 km to secure the bronze medal.

Women's results and national records

Japan won the women's team gold with 707.357 km. Australia took silver on 684.450 km, while India claimed bronze with 667.722 km. For India, Tenzin Dolma led the squad, finishing fourth overall with 228.939 km, a new women's national 24-hour record.

India logged new national records in both 12-hour and 24-hour formats for men and women. The men's team achieved the highest male total ever by an Asian country at any IAU championship, and the highest team mark in the history of IAU Asia-Oceania championships.

Historic distances and global context

Eight of India's eleven athletes recorded personal best distances. Amar Singh Devanda missed the Asian 24-hour record by about 3 km, while the Indian men's team finished just 13 km short of the world record team total. Devanda's 282.881 km currently leads the men's 2026 global lists.

With this result, India has now secured the Asia-Oceania 24-hour ultramarathon title for three straight editions, in 2022, 2024 and 2026. The squad was selected and trained under the aegis of the Athletic Federation of India, with a broad support system around the runners.

The athlete group included men Amar Singh Devanda, Geeno Antony, Saurav Kumar Ranjan, Mukesh Kumari, Sugourav Goswami and Velu Perumal, along with Aparna Choudhary. The women's side featured Bindu Juneja, Shashi Mehta, Sunita Subba and Tenzin Dolma, who anchored the women's performance.

Support staff and leadership

Head coach and manager Santhosh Padmanabhan said, "We are grateful for this moment—it is an achievement the entire Indian ultrarunning community can celebrate. This victory belongs not only to the athletes, but to every supporter who believed in Indian ultrarunning."