Sawan Barwal ended India’s 44-year wait for a men’s marathon medal at the Asian Games on Saturday, winning silver in Nagoya with a national-record time of 2:11:37.
The 28-year-old Army runner finished behind Japan’s Ichitaka Yamashita, who won gold in 2:10:49, while China’s Peiyou Feng took bronze in 2:12:13. Barwal’s silver was India’s first medal in the men’s marathon since Hosur Kukkappa Seetharan won bronze at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi.
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It was also Barwal’s second national record in as many marathon races. On his debut in Rotterdam in April, he ran 2:11:58 to break Shivnath Singh’s 48-year-old national record of 2:12:00. In Nagoya, he took another 21 seconds off his own mark.
HOW DID SAWAN BARWAL TRAIN FOR ASIAN GAMES?
The preparation for his second marathon began almost immediately after that breakthrough.
After Rotterdam, Barwal underwent high-altitude training in Ooty before being sent to Colorado Springs for further preparation. The federation sent him to Colorado Springs, where he spent two months training ahead of the Asian Games, with support from the Reliance Foundation.
“After April, I was in Ooty. The federation sent me to Colorado Springs for practice. I was in Colorado Springs for two months before the Asian Games. Reliance Foundation supported me,” Barwal said.
The stint in Colorado Springs gave Barwal the chance to train with elite coaches and helped build his confidence before his second competitive marathon.
“It was good for me. I trained with elite trainers, and that gave me confidence to do well in the Asian Games,” he said.
The training was also designed around the demands of the marathon, particularly the final five or six kilometres. Barwal’s seniors had warned him that the race really begins after 35km, and his preparation included long runs of 40km or 42km on alternate weeks.
He would run 40-41km at around 10-20 seconds slower than his intended marathon pace, preparing his body to keep moving after fatigue had already set in. His typical week included three hard sessions, speed work, a long run and tempo training, while easier days could still involve 20-25km runs.
His weekly mileage was around 200km, with the long run forming the centrepiece of his programme.
“I had heard from seniors that marathon is not easy. You realise it after 35km,” Barwal had told IndiaToday.in before the Asian Games. “After 35km, it becomes more mentally challenging. You have to stay on the course and figure out how to finish.”
That advice proved crucial in Nagoya.
BARWAL WINS SILVER IN ASIAN GAMES
Barwal spent much of the race at the front, leading from around the 10km mark until 35km before Yamashita made his move. The Japanese runner eventually pulled away, but Barwal stayed in the fight and held on to silver.
He covered the final 7.145km in 22 minutes and 13 seconds.
Feng, who arrived in Nagoya as the Asian leader this season after running 2:05:58, could not reproduce that form and eventually settled for bronze.
Barwal, meanwhile, was not thinking about another national record.
“Today, I didn’t run to break the national record. It could be as slow as possible, but I wanted to win a medal,” he said.
“When I started running at a good speed, I thought that I could break the national record. But still breaking national record was not in my mind. I just wanted to maintain my pace.”
The record came anyway.
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