Parul Chaudhary betters own record to finish second

India’s Parul Chaudhary bettered her own national record in the women’s 5000m event by clocking a new personal best time of 15:04.26 to finish second at the Meeting Nikaia 2026 in Nice, France.

The Indian athlete finished the race behind Ethiopia’s Bereka Seniya Mohammed, who just about edged out Parul from the top spot with a meet record time of 15:03.85. Alessia Zarbo of France ended third with a season best 15:16.83.

“Parul Chaudhary clocked a sensational 15:04.26 to finish 2nd and set a new National Record at the Meeting Nikaia 2026,” the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) tweeted. Saturday’s effort meant Parul breached the AFI’s Asian Games 2026 qualifying standard of 15:36.58s in the 5000m.

 A defending champion at the Hangzhou Asian Games the 31-year-old Parul also holds the national record in 3000 steeplechase.