Gulveer looks to hit peak form

Bengaluru: Long-distance runner Gulveer Singh and his habit of breaking national records are recurring aspects in Indian athletics. The 27-year-old athlete improved on his 3000m flat national record on Tuesday night as he finished a creditable fifth with a timing of 7:34.49 at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix in Budapest.

That's an improvement of close to four seconds from his previous best of 7.38.26, set at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational meet earlier in February. However, there's no time for celebration for the 2022 Asian Games medallist.

"I am happy with the national record, but my eyes are on the World Athletics Championships," Gulveer told DH on Wednesday. "This was my last race before I compete in Japan (in September). It's the biggest event ever I will be part of."

For the unversed, 3000m is not his forte as the Reliance athlete will compete in 5000m and 10000m (he holds national records in both) after winning double gold at the Asian Championships in South Korea last May.

Participating, it seems, in the 3000m was just a warm-up for the Army runner, who has been training with famed US coach Scott Simmons in Colorado Springs for the last six months. His personal coach Yunus Khan shed light on the importance of Tuesday's race.

"With weeks to go for the main event, there was no point in making him run the entire distance and risk a burnout," said Yunus. "Simmons is an experienced coach and has put him on a plan that will help him peak at the right time."

Simmons is quite familiar with the Indian runners as he has coached the likes of Avinash Sable, Parul Chaudhary (3000m steeplechase) and Jinson Johnson (800 and 1500m) in the past. He is currently training Gulveer and another steeplechaser Ankita Dhyani at the acclaimed facilities of The American Distance Project.

Despite all of that at Gulveer's disposal, it will be a tall ask for him to grab a medal at the Worlds. To put things into perspective, 10000m's current world lead timing is 26:43.82 by Ethiopian teenager Biniam Mehary while Gulveer's personal best is 27:00.22, showing the daylight gap between him and the podium positions. However, it's important to understand that timings stand for little in any long-distance running event.

The tactical nature of such events has historically seen the African runners dictate the race pace as per their convenience on a given day. It only forces the rest of the pack to adjust their plans accordingly on the day. However, reigning Worlds and Olympic champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway has shown that such a monopoly is only a myth. For Gulveer, however, the strategy seems to be to stay with the pack of big boys.

"Competition is always going to be there; it only inspires me to improve further. My objective for the World Championships is to stay with those in front and wait for my chance," concluded Gulveer.