In the World Athletics Championships on Sunday, August 27, the Indian men’s 4x400m relay team, including Muhammad Anas Yahiya, Amoj Jacob, Muhammad Ajmal, and Rajesh Ramesh, showed immense determination. They completed the race in under three minutes once more, securing a fifth-place finish with a time of 2 minutes and 59.92 seconds.
P. A. Amoj Jacob, born on May 2, 1998, is a sprinter from India who’s really good at running 400 meters and 800 meters races.
His journey in sports began during his time at St. Xavier’s School in Rohini, Delhi. One day, his coach suggested that he try becoming a sprinter. In 2021, Jacob achieved a major milestone by winning the gold medal in the 400-meter event at the 2021 Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships.
Back in July 2017, Jacob was part of India’s winning team in the 4×400 meters relay at the Asian Athletics Championships. This team included Jacob, Kunhu Muhammed, Arokia Rajiv, and Mohammad Anas.
They finished in 3 minutes and 2.92 seconds, which was the best time of the season in Asia. This was India’s first gold in the event since 1975 in Seoul. Because of this great performance, the team went to the Athletics World Championships in August 2017 with the sixth-best timing in the world.
Jacob also took part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, competing in the Men’s 4×400 meters relay. His team broke the Asian and National Records, finishing in 3 minutes and 0.25 seconds.
In 2021, Jacob won a gold medal in the 400-meter race at the 2021 Federation Cup Senior Athletics Championships.
Amoj Jacob’s Major Achievements:
1x In the Top 8 at World Championships
2x Asian champion
1x Asian Championships Silver medallist
1x In Top 8 at Commonwealth Games
1 x In Top 8 at World U20 Championships
1 x In Top 8 at Asian Championships
2 x National Champion
1 x Current Asian Record holder – 4x400m
Amoj Jacob’s Records:
In 2017, he set a new national record in the junior boys ‘U20 400m event during the 33rd Coromandel National Junior Athletic Championship. He completed the race in 46.59 seconds, breaking the previous record held by Virender Pank since 2006, which was at 46.99 seconds.
Then, in 2019, at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, he achieved an Asian record in the 4×400 men’s relay with a time of 3 minutes and 25 seconds. This broke the previous record of 3 minutes and 0.56 seconds set by Qatar at the Asian Games 2018.
Medals won by Amoj Jacob:
In 2016, he participated in the Asian Junior Championship held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, competing in the Men’s 800m category.
In 2017, he took part in the Asian Athletics Championship that was held in Bhubaneswar.
Also in 2017, he joined the 33rd Coromandel National Junior Athletic Championship in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.
In 2019, he competed in the 5th International Balkan Relay Cup held in Erzurum, Turkey.