Mistake by officials forces athlete to re-run race alone in scorching heat
Harshita was first told by the officials that it was her fault that she switched lanes even as they forgot to place the final hurdle during the women's 400m hurdles first heat at the National Inter-State Championships, before telling her that she can run the race again solo.
Hurdler Harshita R of Tamil Nadu finishing alone in 400m hurdles. (Express Photo)
In the scorching morning heat of Bhubaneswar, 20-year-old Harshita R ran a bizarre solo race in the women’s 400m hurdles at the National Inter-State Championships after a technical error during her heat forced officials to offer her a re-run.
The error occurred during the first heat of the event on Friday when the technical committee failed to place the fifth hurdle in Harshita’s lane.
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Harshita, who was in lane eight, realized midway through the race that the fifth hurdle was missing from her lane. She moved into lane seven to clear the hurdle before continuing the race.
She eventually clocked 1:01.03 to finish third in her heat and book her place in the final.
“I was confused during my race. First, I thought I had made a mistake. I couldn’t find the fifth hurdle and eventually crossed over to lane seven and continued in it,” Harshita said after the race.
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Afterward, she lodged a verbal protest with the technical committee.
“When I told them about it, they said it was my fault because I crossed lanes. However, hurdlers have a rhythm, and if I miss a hurdle, my rhythm breaks. That is why I crossed into the other lane,” she said.
Following her protest, the technical committee asked Harshita to run the race again on Saturday morning – this time alone.
Harshita finishing alone in the 400m hurdles after a technical mistake results in her running again.
Yesterday, there was one hurdle missing in her lane and she cut the lane in the heats. But it happened due to technical team placing one less hurdle in her lane.
“They asked me to come in the morning and race again. They said if I recorded a time of 1:02.00 or below, they would consider me for the final,” she said.
Bizarre morning run
After the 100m heats were cancelled because of low participation, the hurdles were set up again for Harshita’s solo run.
This time, all 10 hurdles were in place. However, Harshita clocked 1:02.54, missing the qualifying mark for the final.
“This is my first inter-state meet. Everybody in the hurdles had to run two races, but I treated this as a semi-final. I had only one chance to qualify for the final,” Harshita said.
Although the flash timing initially showed 1:02.43, her official time was later confirmed as 1:02.54, ruling her out of the final.
Technical officials at the venue did not explain why Harshita was asked to run again, while the Athletics Federation of India could not be reached for comment.
Hurdler Harshita R of Tamil Nadu finishing alone in 400m hurdles. (Express Photo) 
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