Los Angeles, May 24 (IANS) India’s star distance runner Gulveer Singh improved his 5000m outdoor national record with a silver medal finish at the LA Track Festival.

Gulveer clocked 13:03.93 to finish second behind Habtom Samuel (12:57.22s) of Eritrea in the final. In the process, the Indian broke his own previous national record of 13:11.82 set in Japan in September 2024.

“Indian Army Athlete strikes again on the global stage! Nb Sub Gulveer Singh of Army Sports Institute delivered a sensational performance at the Sound Running Track Fest, Los Angeles (24 May 2026). Silver Medal in Men’s 5000m, New National Record – 13:03.93. Breaking his own previous National Record of 13:11.82 set in Japan (Sep 2024), the Army runner continues to redefine Indian distance running with grit, discipline and determination. Wishing Nb Sub Gulveer the very best for the forthcoming sporting season,” Indian Army Sports and Adventure shared on X.

Gulveer, who is currently based out of Colorado Springs in the USA, is the first Indian distance runner to hold multiple national records ranging from the 3,000m track to the 25km road race. He holds three national records in the 3000m, 5000m and 10000m. He is also the reigning Asian champion in the 5000m and 10000m.

He had a good run at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships, winning both the 5,000m and 10,000m track races. This year he is confident of a podium finish at both the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July and the Asian Games in September.

This was Gulveer’s fourth competitive outing of the year. He began his season by finishing 40th in the senior men’s race at the World Cross Country Championships in January. In February he secure a third spot in the 5000m short track at the Sound Running Invite in Winston-Salem, USA.

He then became the first Indian to clock a sub-60 time to finish an impressive third in March at the NYC Half Marathon 2026 in New York. He timed 59:42 behind Olympians Adriaan Wildschutt (59:30) of South Africa and Zouhair Talbi (59:41) of the USA to eclipse the previous national record.

India’s previous record time in the half marathon was set by Avinash Sable at the 2020 Delhi Half Marathon, where he clocked 1:00:30.

–IANS

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