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Today, May 7, is World Athletics Day 2021. The International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) started celebrating World Athletics Day to promote participation in sports among youngsters. It comes under IAAF’s social responsibility project, called ‘Athletics for a Better World’. It was first celebrated in 1996 and the event launched by then IAAF president Primo Nebiolo
IAAF organises various events, tournaments, and competitions in schools and colleges but owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no events. But as a gesture, let’s look at the history, significance and some of our best known athletes and movies inspired by them.
P T Usha
Known as Payyoli Express, P T Usha has been an inspiration for the 1980s generation. Her inspiring show at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics has left a lasting impression in the world of athletics. As a 20-year-old, P.T. Usha nearly created history when she reached the finals of the 400m hurdles but lost the bronze medal by one-hundredth of a second!
Although an Olympic medal eluded her, she managed to win 101 medals in a career that spanned almost a 15 years.
She set ablaze the Asian Track and Field Championships in Jakarta by winning five gold medals. And at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, she won an unprecedented five medals – four gold and a silver in the 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay.
Milkha Singh
Milkha Singh won independent India’s first Commonwealth Games Gold medal in 1958 and rose to prominence. Having participated in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, expectations were high when he came to Rome for the 1960 Games. It was a bright start but the bronze medal slipped away by just 0.1 second.
However, that didn’t deter Milkha as he won the Asian 400m title and the 4×400 relay gold two years later.
In what was his famous race, Milkha blazed past Abdul Khaliq in a race in 1960, where Pakistan’s General Ayub Khan named him the ‘Flying Sikh.’
Anju Bobby George
At the 2003 World Championships in Paris, Anju Bobby George scripted history when she won the bronze medal in long jump. The first Indian athlete to win a medal at the Worlds, Anju – the Asian Games Gold medallist (2002 Busan and 2005 Incheon) – took giant strides by winning the silver at the World Athletics final in 2005.
BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG
A Sports biographical film made on the life Milkha Singh was a superhit. Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar played the role of Milkha Singh. The films starts in the 1960 summer Olympics in Rome, where a coach says “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag!” The runner is taken back to the memories of his childhood days which haunt him, resulting in him dropping to fourth. The movie then goes into a flashback to the Partition of India in 1947 caused chaos which resulted in mass religious violence in Punjab killing the parents of Milkha Singh.
PAAN SINGH TOMAR
The film is based on the true story of a runner employed by the Army. Tomar won a Gold medal at the Indian National Games. However, later he was forced to become a notorious ‘baaghi’. The film is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and was released in 2012.
Picture Courtsey https://www.freepik.com/Racool_studio
