Swapna Khatun broke a 22-year-old national long jump record at the 49th National Athletics Championship in Dhaka on Monday, clearing 6.25 metres to win gold for Bangladesh Navy at the National Stadium.
The 22-year-old surpassed the previous mark of 6.07 metres, which former national athlete Foujia Huda Jui set at the 2004 South Asian Games in Islamabad.
The record carried extra emotion for Swapna because Jui coached her during her early days at BKSP. Swapna celebrated on the track wrapped in the Bangladesh Navy flag after completing the winning jump.
“Madam Foujia Huda Jui helped shape me at BKSP,” Swapna said. “She also wanted me to break her record. Today my dream came true.”
Swapna came from a farming family and joined BKSP in 2019 before entering Bangladesh Navy late last year. She had never crossed six metres in training and previously managed a best jump of 5.99 metres.
The national athlete now aims to compete at the South Asian Games in Pakistan and has already set her next target.
“My target at the SA Games is 6.60 metres,” she said. “If I get proper facilities and better training, I believe I can do more for the country.”
The championship’s second day produced three more national records.
Bangladesh Navy’s Faruk Ahmed broke the men’s discus throw record with a distance of 47.59 metres, beating Abdul Alim’s 46.94-metre mark from earlier this year.
Navy athlete Jafrin Akter also improved her own women’s discus throw record with a throw of 46.06 metres. Her previous record stood at 43.49 metres.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Bangladesh Army runner Barsha Khatun clocked 1 minute 3.17 seconds to lower her own national record from last year.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Navy javelin thrower Mehedi Hasan set a new national record with a throw of 67.35 metres. However, the Bangladesh Athletics Federation withheld the result for a dope test after Bangladesh Army questioned the throw.
