Vikas Gowda

Vikas Gowda

Personal information
Full name	Vikas Shive Gowda
Nationality	Indian
Born	5 July 1983 Mysore, Karnataka, India
Height	2.06 m (6 ft 9 in)
Weight	140 kg (310 lb; 22 st) (2014)
Sport
Country	India
Sport	Track and field
Event(s)	Discus throw
Team	India
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	outdoor: 66.28 m NR (April 2012)
Medal record Competitor for  India Men's athletics Asian Games 2014 Incheon Discus 2010 Guangzhou Discus Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow Discus 2010 New Delhi Discus Men's athletics Asian Athletics Championships 2013 Pune Discus 2015 Wuhan Discus 2011 Kobe Discus 2005 Incheon Discus
Updated on 23 August 2015.

Vikas Gowda (Kannada:ವಿಕಾಸ್ ಗೌಡ) (born 5 July 1983) is an Indian discus thrower and Shot putter.^[1] Born in Mysore, he grew up in Frederick, Maryland in the United States. His father, Shive, coached the 1988 Indian Olympic track team.

He is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the 2006 US NCAA National Champion in discus.^[2]

His personal best throw is 66.28 meters which is also Indian national record in discus throw, achieved in 2012. He contested at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to reach the finals after finishing 22nd in the qualifiers, with a throw of 60.69 m. In 2012 London Olympics, Vikas qualified for the finals, at the fifth place, with a throw of 65.20 m ^[3][4] and finished 8th in the finals.

He won his first gold medal in Asian Championships in 2013 in Pune, with a throw of 64.90 meters.^[5] He is supported by Olympic Gold Quest.^[6] In shot put his personal record stands on 19.62 meters.

His best moment came when he clinched the Gold for India in the 2014 Commonwealth Games with a throw of 63.64m, which made him the second Indian man to win athletics gold, 56 years after Milkha Singh, won the men's 440 yards at the Cardiff 1958 Games.^[7]

After the qualification standard was lowered, he has qualified for the 2016 Olympics in the discus, making this is 4th Olympic games.^[8]

International competitions

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  India
2002	World Junior Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	8th	Shot put (6 kg)	19.30 m
			12th	Discus (1.75 kg)	54.46 m
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	15th	Discus	61.39 m
2005	Asian Championships	Incheon, South Korea	2nd	Discus	62.84 m
2006	Commonwealth Games	Melbourne, Australia	5th	Shot put	18.46 m
			6th	Discus	60.08 m
	Asian Games	Doha, Qatar	6th	Discus	58.28 m
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	22nd	Discus	60.69 m
2010	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China	3rd	Discus	63.13 m
	Commonwealth Games	New Delhi, India	2nd	Discus	63.69 m
2011	Asian Championships	Kobe, Japan	2nd	Discus	61.58 m
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	7th	Discus	64.05 m
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	8th	Discus	64.79 m
2013	Asian Championships	Pune, India	1st	Discus	64.90 m
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	Discus	63.64 m
	Asian Games	Incheon, South Korea	2nd	Discus	62.58 m
2015	Asian Championships	Wuhan, China	1st	Discus	62.03 m
	World Championships	Beijing, China	9th	Discus	62.24 m

See also

• India at the 2008 Summer Olympics
• India at the 2012 Summer Olympics

References

Bibliography

• Vikas Gowda profile at IAAF

Notes

1. IAAF Profile
2. Tar Heels' Vikas Gowda wins discus title http://www.tarheeltimes.com/article9671.aspx
3. "Gowda makes the cut for the discus throw final". The Times Of India. Retrieved 06-08-2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
4. "London Olympics 2012 Discus Throw Results". Retrieved 6 August 2012.
5. "Vikas Gowda wins first gold for India at Asian Athletics Championships - The Times of India". The Times Of India.
6. Srinivasan, Kamesh (07-08-2012). "Gowda makes the cut for discus throw final". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. "Vikas Gowda is first Indian man to clinch athletics gold in 56 years". India Today. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-02.
8. http://do4news.com/sports/gowda-qualifies-for-olympics-after-revision-of-entry-standards/