India’s track and field legend PT Usha has been nominated for the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) ‘Veteran Pin’ for her outstanding service to the sport.
Usha is often called the “queen of track and field”. She won five gold medals -- 100 metres(m), 200m, 400m, 400 m hurdles and the 4x400 m relay -- besides a bronze in the Asian Games which were held at Jakarta in 1985 .
“We are delighted that you have been nominated by your Area Association as a recipient of the IAAF Veteran Pin for your long and meritorious service to the cause of World Athletics,” the IAAF CEO Jon Ridgeon informed Usha in a letter.
He also extended an invitation to the 55-year-old to attend the award ceremony during the opening of the 52nd IAAF Congress in Qatar in September.
Usha’s most memorable performance came in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she became the first Indian to reach the finals of the 400m hurdles, but lost the bronze by one-hundredth of a second.