Explained: Why Gulveer Singh’s NYC Half run won’t count as a national record?

Several media outlets reported that Gulveer Singh broke the Indian national record in the half-marathon after finishing third at the NYC Half Marathon 2026 with a time of 59:42.

While the performance is historic, the claim that it is an official national record is incorrect.

What actually happened

Gulveer finished third in New York, behind Adriaan Wildschutt (59:30) and Zouhair Talbi (59:41).

His time of 59:42 makes him the first Indian athlete to run the half-marathon distance in under one hour, surpassing the previous Indian best of 1:00:30 set by Avinash Sable at the 2020 Delhi Half Marathon.

However, the mark cannot be ratified as an official national record.

Why can the time not be recognised as a record?

According to regulations set by World Athletics, road race records must meet strict course criteria.

One key rule states that the distance between the start and finish points must not exceed 50% of the race distance.

For a half-marathon (21.0975 km), the maximum allowed separation is approximately 10.55 km.

The NYC Half Marathon course does not meet this requirement. The start and finish points are around 11.6 km apart, exceeding the permitted limit.

Because of this, performances recorded on the course are not eligible for record ratification.

Even if the course met the technical criteria, national records must still be approved by the Athletics Federation of India.

Although it cannot be listed as an official national record, Gulveer’s run remains a landmark performance in Indian distance running.

The 27-year-old Asian champion in the 5000m and 10,000m already holds national records in the 3000m, 5000m and 10,000m, and his sub-60 run demonstrates the growing competitiveness of Indian athletes in global road racing.

In short: Gulveer Singh did run 59:42 and finish on the podium, but it is not an official Indian national record.