Vikas Gowda

Vikas Gowda
OLY
Gowda in 2014
Personal information
Full nameVikas Shive Gowda
Born (1983-07-05) 5 July 1983
Mysore, Karnataka, India[1]
Alma mater• University of North Carolina at Charlotte (MBA)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA, Mathematics)
Height2.05 m (6 ft 9 in)[2]
Sport
SportTrack and field
EventDiscus throw
College teamNorth Carolina Tar Heels[1]
Achievements and titles
Personal bests66.28 m NR (2012)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  India
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow Discus
Silver medal – second place 2010 New Delhi Discus
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2014 Incheon Discus
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Guangzhou Discus
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Pune Discus
Gold medal – first place 2015 Wuhan Discus
Silver medal – second place 2005 Incheon Discus
Silver medal – second place 2011 Kobe Discus
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Bhubaneswar Discus

Vikas Gowda (born 5 July 1983) is a former Indian discus thrower and a four-time Olympian.[3][4] Born in Mysore and raised in Frederick, he is the son of Shive Gowda, who coached the Indian track team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He was the 2006 US NCAA National Champion in discus throw.[5] Gowda won the discus throw event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, becoming the second Indian man to win a Commonwealth gold in athletics—56 years after Milkha Singh.[6] He is a two-time Asian champion, having won gold medals at the 2013 and 2015 editions of the Asian Championships. Gowda also made history as the first Indian to finish on the podium at a Diamond League meet, a feat matched by only two other Indian athletes as of 2025.[7] In recognition of his achievements, he was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2014 and the Padma Shri in 2017. Gowda announced his retirement from competitive athletics in 2018 to focus on his corporate career.[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
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 28th (q) Discus 58.99 m
2017 Asian Championships Bhubaneswar, India 3rd Discus 60.81 m

References

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Vikas Gowda". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ "Vikas Gowda". Rio2016.com. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016.
  3. ^ "Vikas GOWDA | Profile | World Athletics". worldathletics.org. Archived from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Olympics Profile: Vikas GOWDA". Olympics.
  5. ^ Tar Heels' Vikas Gowda wins discus title. Tar Heel Times (10 June 2006)
  6. ^ "Vikas Gowda is first Indian man to clinch athletics gold in 56 years". India Today. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  7. ^ "List of Indians to achieve top three finishes in Diamond League". Khel Now. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  8. ^ "Discus throw veteran Vikas Gowda calls time on sparkling career". ESPN. 31 May 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
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