JOIN USIn her quest to find recognition and respect, Dutee Chand broke through another barrier when she qualified for the Rio Olympic Games with a national record-breaking run at the 26th G Kosanov Memorial Meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Saturday.
Dutee, who was once suspended from competing for hyperandrogenism (excessive male hormones), timed 11.30 seconds in the heats and an incredible 11.24 in the final to win silver, breaking her own record of 11.33 set at the Federation Cup in April.
The qualifying mark for Rio stood at 11.32 seconds.
If she is entered, the 20-year-old from a poor weaver’s family in Odisha will be the first Indian sprinter to compete in the Olympics 100 metres in 36 years.
P T Usha, who ran in the heats at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, was the last runner to feature in the 100m dash at the Games.
Apart from Usha, Nilima Ghosh, Mary D’Souza (both 1952 Helsinki) and Mary Leela Rao (1956 Melbourne) are the other women sprinters to compete in the Olympics 100m, none managing to go past the first round.
“I am really happy at the moment,” she said in a statement. “It has been a tough year for me and I am so happy that my hard work has paid off..”
Dutee had to endure a tough time after she was barred from competing in 2014, forcing her to miss the Commonwealth and Asian Games that year, as her high testosterone levels breached the regulations of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).