Parvej Khan finishes seventh in NCAA Championships One Mile track event

National Games gold medallist Parvej Khan, secured seventh place in the final of the one mile track event at the NCAA Championships in Boston, USA.

Parvej Khan earlier made history as the first Indian to qualify for the final of a track event in the NCAA Championships. Khan represented the University of Florida and finished seventh in the highly competitive one mile track event's final in Boston.

In a race that showcased some of the world's top collegiate athletes, Khan clocked an impressive 4 minutes 03.05 seconds on Saturday. This achievement followed his exceptional performance in the preliminary run, where he finished third with a time of 3 minutes 57.126 seconds.

The gold in the one mile track event went to the USA's Luke Houser, who finished with a timing of 4 minutes 01.72 seconds. Australia's Adam Spencer secured second place in 4 minutes 01.92 seconds, with Lucas Bons of the US taking third with a time of 4 minutes 02.12 seconds.

Hailing from a farming family in the Mewat region of Haryana, Khan had previously won the 1500m gold in the 2022 National Games with a new personal best of 3.40.89 in Gandhinagar. His journey to the NCAA Championships was supported by a college scholarship to the University of Florida, where he has been making his mark in the world of collegiate track and field.

It's noteworthy that the one mile run is not a popular event among Indian athletes and is not part of the Olympic and World Championships programme. However, Khan's success highlights the growing presence of Indian athletes in international competitions, with three other Indians—Tejaswin Shankar (2018 and 2022 in high jump), Mohinder Singh Gill (triple jump), and Vikas Gowda (2006 in discus throw)—having previously won gold at the NCAA championships.