Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational: 17-Year-Old Pradeep Senthil Kumar Scripts History, Sets New National Record In 800m Short Track Event

The 17-year-old Pradeep Kumar registered 1:48.73 timing to set a new indoor 800m National record during his historic run at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational.

Hyderabad: Indian middle-distance runner Pradeep Senthil Kumar scripted history, setting a new indoor 800m national record during his historic run at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational event in Columbia, Missouri, United States. He broke the 17-year-old National Record in the 800m short track event.

Pradeep Senthil Kumar, who broke a seven-year-old 800m meet record set by former Asian Youth Champion Beant Singh at the 20th National Federation Under-20 Athletics Championships, clocked a stunning time of 1:48.73, finishing at the top spot. Notably, his time was the best across all heats. With this exceptional performance, he also emerged triumphant in the competition.

Pradeep went past the previous national record of 1:49.46, held by former National Champion Rajeev Ramesan, who set the record at the 2008 Asian Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Pradeep, who is from Tamil Nadu, has continued to excel in his sport, significantly improving his previous best time of 1:49.98 by over a second in the 800m indoor event. This competition marks his second 800m appearance this year.

Earlier in January, he added two more titles to his collection. He won the 400m short track title on January 17th at the Graduate Classic and the 600m short track title at the Mark Colligan Memorial on January 25th.