Latest news with #Kenya-born
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Parul Chaudhary delays finishing kick but still ends up with national record; Gulveer nails perfect last lap for gold in 5000m
Indian middle-distance runners continued their domination at the ongoing Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, as Gulveer Singh won gold in the men's 5000m race with a competition record timing of 13:24.77s and steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary rewrote her national record in women's 3000m steeplechase to clinch silver. One of the best endurance runners in Asia, Parul, rewrote the national record twice in the space of two weeks. Earlier this month, Parul participated in the Doha Diamond League. She clocked 9:13.39 to break her previous national record, competing against a field that included Olympic champion Winfred Yavi of Brunei and Olympic bronze medallist Faith Cherotich of Kenya. On Friday, Parul clocked 9:12.46 to claim the second spot behind 2022 World Champion Norah Jeruto of Kazakhstan, who clocked 9:10.46 and claimed the gold medal. When asked about rewriting the national record, Parul said that was the target she had in her mind before the event. 'I wanted to rewrite the national record. I knew the 2022 3000m steeplechase World Champion Norah Jeruto was here and she would run a fast race,' Parul told the reporters after her medal. It was a race where the top three were decided from the first whistle, with Jeruto, Parul, and Daisy Jepkemei of Kazakhstan being the prime contenders for the podium spots. Jeruto and Jepkemei are both Kenya-born Kazakhs. Jeruto took the lead and held on to it till the end to win the title, while Parul started behind both Jeruto and Jepkemei. After the first 400m, it was clear that no one was catching Jeruto, and then Parul in the second place. The Indian tried to cover some distance in the last lap, but Jeruto finished well before her. 'My strategy was to go along with Norah, but she started very fast. I think I should have picked the race a little earlier and covered more gap in the last lap, but I am happy with the result,' Parul said. The 30-year-old athlete has been on a constant improvement graph in the 3000m steeplechase, shaving off 26 seconds since 2022 in her personal best timings. Parul had a personal best of 9:38.09 in 2022 and improved by 14 seconds, clocking 9:24.29 at the heats of the 2023 World Athletics Championships, and the next day in the final, she clocked 9:15.31, further improving her timing by nine seconds. She failed to go anywhere close to her personal best in 2024, clocking her season best at the 2024 Paris Olympics with 9:23.39. In 2025, she ran two races and improved the national record twice, indicating a promising upcoming season. Parul, who qualified for the World Championships 2025 earlier in Doha by breaching the qualifying mark of 9:18.00, will be participating in the 5000m final tomorrow. It looked like Thai runner Kieran Tuntivate might stop Gulveer from doing a gold medal double at the Asian Athletics Championships, but the Indian athlete maintained his composure and produced a strong last lap to win the gold medal of the men's 5000m event, clocking 13:24.77s and setting the new competition record. Currently the fastest Asian athlete in both 5000m and 10,000m events, Gulveer is having a stellar 2025, breaking multiple national records and now winning two gold medals at the continental showpiece. When asked what his target was for the event, Gulveer said,' The target was to get gold in 10000m and not care about timing in the 5000m. I am happy that I won the gold medal in both events,' Gulveer said after winning the second medal. Gulveer started a little slow in the race but took the outside lane after the first 400m to enter the leading pack. He continued in the fifth position for the majority of the race before coming in medal position in the last 1200m. However, it was the spectacular last kick in the final lap when he distanced himself from the Japanese runners Nagiya Mori (bronze medallist) and Ketia Satoh (fourth position) and made sure that Tuntivate (silver medallist) didn't get the better of him. Gulveer, who trains at Colorado Springs in the United States under the tutelage of Scott Simmons, wants to focus on the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, later this year. 'My training this year has been good, and focus is going to be on the World Championships,' said Gulveer. The Athlete from Uttar Pradesh has already booked his World Championships berth in the 5000m event and will be looking to secure the same in the 10,000m event. India (Total Medals): 18 (8 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze) Rank in Medal Tally– 2nd Medals won on Day 4- Gulveer Singh- 5000m- Gold Pooja- High Jump- Gold Nandini Agasara- Heptathlon- Gold Parul Chaudhary- 3000m Steeplechase- Silver
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
30 Under 30 Europe Social Impact 2025: Meet The Founders Merging Tech And Human Impact
For entrepreneur Lisa Oberaigner, 26, her MIT master's thesis on carbon emissions across the supply chain was just the foundation. She soon turned her paper into a product. Setting her sights specifically on construction, an industry accountable for 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Oberaigner is now the CEO and cofounder of Emidat, which uses AI-powered software to help manufacturers of materials like cement, steel, and glass understand their products' environmental impact. The company has raised $4.8 million from investors, including General Catalyst, to help the construction industry meet client demands, differentiate their products, and comply with ongoing regulations. Sebastian Nevols for Forbes 'The moment that manufacturers actually reduce in the real world, they should also be able to show this to their customer and charge a 'green premium,'' says Oberaigner. 'In the long run, what happens is that we actually help create competition that is not only based on price, but also on better environmental data.' Oberaigner is one of the pioneering social entrepreneurs on this year's Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Social Impact list, leveraging technology to address today's most pressing problems. From education access to food waste and domestic violence prevention to visual impairment, the young innovators who earned a spot on this year's 30 Under 30 Europe Social Impact list are creating scalable, impactful solutions at the intersection of technological innovation and social change. Dacod Magagula, 29, and Tao Laine Boyle, 28, are democratizing education through FoondaMate, a WhatsApp-based learning platform that has exploded from 40,000 to 4 million users across 180 countries in just three years. Using existing messaging infrastructure, their service works where internet access is limited. Similarly innovative is Kenya-born Brian Mwenda, 28, who is taking on assistive mobility. Together with Austrian Laura Wissiak, 28, he founded Hope Tech Plus, developing the "Sixth Sense,' a wearable device that uses sonar, echolocation and AI to help visually impaired individuals navigate independently. Like Oberaigner, the climate crisis has spurred ingenious solutions from Vincent Garcia, 28 and Martin d'Agay, 29, who cofounded Kikleo to tackle the massive food waste problem in professional kitchens. Their AI-powered system automatically identifies the nature and weight of discarded food, allowing restaurants to adjust their purchasing and production. The impact is substantial: 200 tons of food saved (equivalent to 400,000 meals) and 1,000 tons of CO2 emissions avoided. For Jasmine Douglas, 28, entrepreneurship wasn't a choice, it was a necessity. After experiencing discrimination in tech, the British-American founder with Nigerian heritage created Babes on Waves, an AI-driven networking platform connecting women of color entrepreneurs to funding, job opportunities and industry power players. What began as a membership club has facilitated 1,000+ job placements and helped members secure over $800,000 in funding while building partnerships with global brands like Apple, Nike, and L'Oréal. Also driven by personal experience is Ba Linh Le, 28. A second-generation Vietnamese immigrant, Le created Frontline after experiencing domestic abuse herself. Her AI-powered domestic violence prevention tool achieves 84% accuracy in predicting high-risk situations like potential domestic abuse incidents and has been implemented across half of Germany's social services. What unites this year's honorees is their dual focus on technological innovation and human-centered impact. They're not just creating businesses, they're building solutions that address fundamental social challenges while demonstrating that purpose and profit can work hand in hand. Candidates were evaluated by a panel of judges at the top of their respective fields, including Natalie Campbell, Co-CEO of Belu Water; Jessica Anderen, CEO of the IKEA Foundation; Roberta Bosurgi, CEO of Impact Europe; and Flinn Dolman, cofounder and Head of AI at Lawhive, and Under 30 Europe 2024 alum. To be considered this year, all nominees must have been 29 or younger as of April 9, 2025. Of those named to the final list, 45.7% of individuals identify as people of color, 57.1% are women, and 91.4% are founders or cofounders. This year's list was edited by LaVonne Roberts, Brianne Garrett, and Igor Bosilkovski. For a link to our complete 2025 30 Under 30 Social Impact list, click here, and for full 2025 30 Under 30 Europe coverage, click here.
