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Indian athlete Parvej Khan makes history at US collegiate race, shares Olympic dream
Representing the University of Florida, the Haryana teenager clinched gold in the men's 1500m and bronze in the 800m at the SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
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Parvej Khan celebrates after winning the 1500m race at the SEC collegiate championships. / Screengrab X/@GatorsTF
Representing the University of Florida, India's Parvej Khan won the men's 1500m title and then took a bronze in the 800m event at the 2024 SEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships held on May.11.
The SEC championship hosts athletes from universities across the southeastern region of the US. Khan became the first from the University of Florida to win the 1500m race at the event in 41 years. He clocked a time of three minutes and 42.73 seconds to win the gold medal.
Khan, who hails from a farming community in Haryana, overtook six co-runners just before the final stretch to finish third (1:46.80) in the 800m race.
After his win, the 19-year-old even expressed his desire of competing in the Olympics. "Yeah, representing India in the Olympics is on my mind. But it’s really hard to qualify for Paris as I am really far behind the qualification, but I am trying to give my 100 percent and do my job every day. People trust me so I am doing good day by day to execute my plans well and I hope I get an Olympics standard.”
"The 1500m race was easy for me. I did not give my 100 percent in that race because I had 800m just after that. I was going at a comfort pace and only pushed in the final 200," Khan added.
When asked about his celebratory gestures (raising hands in the air before crossing the finish line), Khan said: "I did it for the crowd, to hype up the crowd, my intention was not bad towards my rivals, I really respect my competitors. I am not disrespecting them, I just did it for my home (Florida) crowd."
Khan's performance drew commentators from the broadcasting team to praise both his ability and style.
Currently on a college scholarship program in the US, Khan previously also won the 1500m title at the 2022 Indian National Games where he shattered the 28-year-old Games record.
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