Traditionally considered to be one of the fastest meets of the season, the Bryan Clay Invitational includes some of the best college track and field teams and athletes from around the country and the world.
Some Indians were also in action here
Nishad Kumar (Para), Tejaswin Shankar, and Sarvesh Kushare in the Men’s High Jump.
Parvej Khan in the Men’s 800m and 1500m
Parvej Khan
A boy from a village in Mewat who recently became the first Indian runner to earn a scholarship for a college in the highly competitive division 1 of the NCAA when he signed with the University of Florida last year.
And if you haven’t heard his name, then get used to it, as he is now slowly becoming a known name in America, where his exploits on tracks are getting noticed by everyone.
He was breaking Indian indoor athletics record after record in the mile (1600m) category.
Here in Bryan Clay, he decided to take part in 800m and 1500m, respectively, but later on decided to opt out of 800m for some reasons.
But his performance in the 1500m was a good one, as he clocked a PB with a timing of 3:38.76 minutes, making him the fourth-fastest Indian in the event’s history after Jinson Johnson, Ajay Kumar Saroj and Bahadur Prasad.
His previous best was 3:40.89, which he achieved in 2022. He finished 5th in his heat and, overall, 12th in the competition.
Though he had a PB in the event, a better result was expected from him considering his exploits in the indoor season this year, but wet conditions didn’t help his cause much.
Sarvesh Kushare
Sarvesh Kushare on the other hand, started his season on a good note as he won the men’s high jump title at the Bryan Clay Invitational 2024.
Kushare, who finished fourth at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year with a 2.26m effort, recorded a clearance of 2.19m over the bar here to finish first in Group A.
Tokyo Paralympics silver medallist Nishad Kumar also participated in the event, finishing joint-sixth with a leap of 1.98m (well below his PB of 2.09m).
None of the athletes in Group B of the men’s high jump event cleared the two- meter mark.
High jump Indian national record holder Tejaswin Shankar was also listed to
start but did not participate in the event.
Written By Naman Jain
