India scripted history at the 2026 International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 24-Hour Asia and Oceania Championships held in Hirosaki City, Japan, by winning a total of five medals. The Indian men’s team dominated the event with a clean sweep of the individual podium and also secured the team gold medal.
Key Highlights
Venue: Hirosaki
Country Host: Japan
India’s Total Medals: 5
Competition Format: Athletes compete to cover the maximum distance within 24 hours.
Medal Winners from India:
Men’s Individual Category
Gold Medal – Amar Singh Devanda
Distance Covered: 282.881 km
Silver Medal – Geeno Antony
Distance Covered: 272.894 km
Bronze Medal – Saurav Kumar Ranjan
Distance Covered: 260.058 km
Team Event
Men’s Team Gold: India
Combined Distance Covered: 815.833 km
Japan won silver, while Australia secured bronze in the team category.
Additional Key Facts
The championship is conducted under the supervision of the International Association of Ultrarunners, the apex global body for ultrarunning events.
“24-hour ultrarunning” is an endurance race where participants run continuously for 24 hours, and rankings are based on total distance covered.
India had earlier hosted the 2022 IAU 24H Asia & Oceania Championships in Bengaluru.
India is also set to host the IAU 50 km World Championships in New Delhi.
UPSC - 2027 - Prelims cum Mains - Foundation Course / Batch Starts on 04-06-2026 
