DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom will again be a hub for some of the world's top professional track and field performers. This year, India will be sending a handful of its most talented athletes to showcase their skills while competing in Drake Stadium.
 
"We're honored that the Indian Federation has chosen to send their nation's best middle distance and distance runners to Des Moines for the 114th edition of America's Athletic Classic," Blake Boldon, the Franklin P. Johnson Director of the Drake Relays said. "As Paul Morrison often said, 'The Drake Relays are Des Moines' window to the world.' Hosting this world class delegation in 2024 is one more testament to his time-tested wisdom that has been proven true generation after generation."
 
The Indian athletes will compete in four different events including the men's and women's 1,500-meter run, the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, and the women's 5,000-meter run.
 
Parul Chaudhary is the lone 1,500-meter runner in the women's division from the Indian delegation. She is a veteran of the distance running game with gold medals at the 2022 Asian Games in the 5,000-meter run and the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. In 2022, she also became the first Indian woman to run a sub-nine minute 3,000. Named to the 2024 Forbes India 30 Under 30 list, Parul will look to best her personal record time of 4:18.36 in the 1,500. One of her country's top athletic representatives, Chaudhary will be taking her talents to Paris this summer to compete in the 2024 Olympic Games. She has already qualified for the Olympics by posting a personal best and steeplechase national record of 9:15.31 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
 
Three different runners will be representing India in the men's 1,500-meter race including Avinash Sable, Ajay Kumar Saroj, and P.R. Rahul. Sable will be making his 1,500-meter debut in Des Moines but boasts an impressive track record in other events. He qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and has qualified for two World Championships in the steeplechase. Sable earned the 2023 Asian Games steeplechase title and holds Indian national records in that same race, the 5,000-meter run, and the half marathon.
 
Kumar Saroj and Rahul also bring historical success to Des Moines. Kumar Saroj set a personal 1,500-meter best of 3:38.24 last year while winning the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand. He also took home top Asian honors in 2017 and won silver in 2019. Rahul qualified for the 2023 National Championships and has put up a personal record of 3:39.83.
 
Indian steeplechaser Priti Lamba will compete on Friday night in one of the most globally representative races in Drake Relays history when a dozen world class women's steeplechasers take aim at the Paris Olympic qualifying mark of 9:23.00. Lamba, a 2016 Indian national champion, finished third at the 2023 Asian Games and fourth at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships.
 
Ms. Seema will start the competition off for the Indian athletes on Thursday night in the women's 5,000-meter run. At the 2024 World Cross Country Championship in Belgrade, Serbia, Seema was the top Indian finisher with an impressive showing in 36th place. She will join Bethany Hasz, a Minnesota graduate currently representing the Boston Athletic Association, in pursuit of the meet record established by West Des Moines native and Olympian Karissa Schweizer. Schweizer set the Drake Relays record of 15:23.21 in 2018.
 
"We're excited to get to Des Moines and compete in such a renowned event," Indian Federation coach Scott Simmons said. "The Drake Relays always provide a fantastic opportunity for international exposure, and our athletes are eager to perform."

The Indian national team is currently at a high-altitude training camp in Colorado Springs supported by REC.
 
The women's 5,000-meter run will be part of the Distance Carnival on Thursday, April 25. The women's steeplechase will be one of the final events on the evening of Friday, April 26. Both men's and women's 1,500-meter races will be run on the afternoon of Saturday, April 27.
 
2024 Drake Relays tickets are available for purchase here.