Kavita Raut (also Kavita Tungar) was born on 5th May 1985 in a tribal family in Sawarpada which is a village near Harsul, Nasik in the state of Maharashtra. She holds the current Indian National record for 10 km road running with a timing of 34:32 as well as the current Indian National record in the half marathon with a timing of 1:12:50.
Athletic Career of Kavita Raut
Raut won a bronze medal at the 2009 Asian athletics championships. It was held at Guangzhou, China. She also won the bronze medal in 10,000 metres race at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It was the first individual track medal won by an Indian woman athlete at the Commonwealth Games. Kavita Raut also won the silver medal in 10,000 metres race at the 2010 Asian Games. This is her personal best record, according to sports experts. The medal was in fact a double victory for India, as Preeja Sreedharan won the gold with a timing of 31:50.47 in the same event, setting a record among India"s bests". The best record of Raut for 5,000 metres is 16:05.90. She achieved this record while winning a bronze on 10 November 2009 during the 18th Asian athletics championships held at Guangzhou, China. During the 50th National Open athletic meet held at Kochi, Kavita Raut set a meet record in the 10,000 metres event on 18 May 2010 while winning the gold medal. She bettered the previous meet record held by Preeja Sreedharan by clocking 32:41.31.
During the 2010 Commonwealth Games, held at New Delhi on 8 October 2010, Kavita Raut finished in a timing of 33:05.28. The first individual track medal won by an Indian Athlete-Raut in more than a span of 50 years, is actually after Milkha Singh`s 440 yards gold at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games.
After the 2010 Asian Games held at Guangzhou, China, Kavita Raut started the following season with a 5000/ 10,000 m double at the 2011 National Games of India, setting Games records in both events. Kavita Raut holds the current Indian National record for 10 kilometres road running with a mark of 34:32, set at the World 10K in Bengaluru.
Kavita Raut in Rio Olympic Games
The long-distance runner Kavita Raut, became the fourth Indian women to have qualified for Rio Olympic Games Women"s marathon. This qualification of hers came after winning the gold medal in the women"s marathon event at the 12th South Asian Games. Kavita had finished the race in 2 hours 38 minutes and 38 seconds. The Rio Olympics women"s marathon qualification standard was 2:42:00. She was the only athlete to have qualified for the Olympics from the 12th South Asian Games. On the day of the marathon event in the Olympics, however, she finished at the 120th spot.
Ekalavya Athletics and Sports Institute
In 2011, Kavita Raut set up an academy in Nasik district to train upcoming athletes. She said in few interviews that having grown up in a place where there were not many opportunities for athletes, she wanted to help others who wanted to make it big in the field of sports, like her. Her institution identifies young athletes, provides them with proper training and also funds their education.
Awards and Appreciations of Kavita Raut
Kavita Raut had been awarded with the Arjuna Award in 2012 for her outstanding performance in long distance race. This was after 30 years that any Maharashtrian athlete was receiving this award. She was ranked 87th in 34th IAAF World Cross Country Championships which was held in Fukuoka on 2nd April in the year 2006. She also received the Suvarnaratna Award in 2015.
Performance Statistics of Kavita Raut
Personal life of Kavita Raut
Kavita Raut is also employed with Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). In 2013, Kavita married Mahesh Tungar.
