41 years on, PT Usha’s Kerala state records remain unchallenged

Not only did P T Usha leave an indelible mark on Indian athletics, but her performances remain relevant to this day, just as they were four decades ago.

Two of the timings Usha set 41 years ago, when she was just 20, remained untouched after the first day of the 69th Kerala State Senior Athletics Championships in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.

Usha holds the meet records in the women's 100m and 400m races. Her timings of 11.40 seconds in 100m and 52.70 seconds in 400 m, both set in 1984, were unchallenged in the latest state meet.

Ardra K, 20-year-old from Kollam, was the best in the latest batch of 100 m runners, clocking 11.87 seconds. She was the only one who ran a sub-12 race. Shilbi A P, who was the fastest two years ago (11.84), finished third this time (12.10) behind Idukki's Arathy A (12.09).

In the 400 m, Thiruvananthapuram's Gowri Nandhana took first place in 54.57 seconds, which was nearly two seconds slower than the meet record.

In her prime, Usha dominated sprint events in the country, competing in 100m, 200m, 400m and 400m hurdles. Though she amassed gold medals at Asian Games and Asian Championships, Usha's most memorable race was the 400m hurdles final at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, where she missed out on bronze by 1/100th of a second.

The 61-year-old from Payyoli is the president of the Indian Olympic Association.