Rio Olympics 2016: Who is Lalita Babar?

Lalita Babar on Saturday shattered national record to finish fourth in qualifying in the 3000m steeplechase. She completed the race in 9.19.76, smashing the earlier record held by Sudha Singh who did it in 9.26.55.

Lalita Shivaji Babar comes from a small village in the Sitara district of Maharashtra. She had a penchant for running long distance from an early age.

Her early success came at a very young age while competing for the under-20 National marathon championships in Pune where she clinched gold, way back in 2005. Lalita recently shattered some National records at the Mumbai Marathon in 2014, clocking 2:50:31.

She also became the hat-trick winner of the Mumbai marathon event. But, winning marathon events were not the only part of her credentials. She won gold at the Incheon games in South Korea in 2014 where she clocked 9:35.37.