National Open Athletics Championships 2024: Vithya Ramraj shatters PT Usha's 39-year-old record in women’s 400m hurdles
Vithya Ramraj broke PT Usha's 39-year-old record at the 63rd National Open Athletics Championships, clocking 56.23 seconds in the women’s 400m hurdles. Usha had clocked in 56.80 seconds at a national meet in Thiruvananthapuram in 1985.
Vithya secured gold in the event. She was closely followed by Sinchal, also representing Railway Sports, who clocked 57.60 seconds. Prajna, competing for Karnataka, secured third place with a time of 57.90 seconds.
At the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Vithya Ramraj matched Usha’s iconic 1984 Olympic time with a 55.42-second run in the heat in the 400m hurdles event. A month before that, at the nationals meet in Chandigarh, she missed out on equalling Usha’s national record by just 0.01 seconds.
A look at Vithya Ramraj's stellar career
At 25, Vithya Ramraj from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, has made a name for herself in Indian athletics. Competing in both the 400m hurdles and 400m, she’s a four-time national champion, which shows her talent and dedication.
Vithya rose to prominence at the 2021 National Open Championships in Warangal where she claimed first place in the 400m, mixed 4x400m relay, and 400m hurdles, and finished second in the 4x100m relay.
One of her standout moments came at the National Open Relay Carnival 2024 in Chandigarh, where she achieved her personal best in the women’s 4x400m relay. Vithya's team, including MR Poovamma, Jyothika Sri Dandi, and Rupal Choudhary, clocked 3:28.64 to secure first place.
Vithya Ramraj’s success extends beyond national events. She was part of the women’s 4x400m relay team that won a silver medal at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, alongside Aishwarya Mishra, Prachi Chaudhary, and Subha Venkatesan. The team clocked an impressive 3:27.85. Additionally, she earned a silver in the mixed relay with Muhammad Ajmal, Rajesh Ramesh, and Subha Venkatesan, finishing with a time of 3:14.34.
In the 400m hurdles, Vithya claimed a bronze medal by matching PT Usha’s national record of 55.42 seconds. Her personal best in the 400m event came this year at the National Open Competition in Trivandrum, where she clocked 52.25 seconds to win gold.