California, Mar 29 (UNI) Olympian Ankita Dhyani clinched the women’s 3000m steeplechase title at the Mangrum Invitational 2025 athletics meet held in California, USA, on Saturday.
Representing India at the event, Ankita clocked a personal best of 9:44.05s, comfortably surpassing the Athletics Federation of India’s (AFI) qualifying mark of 9:48.48s for the upcoming Asian Athletics Championships 2025.
Ankita, who had participated in the women’s 5000m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, has transitioned to the 3000m steeplechase event. The 26-year-old runner shaved nearly nine seconds off her previous best of 9:53.63s, recorded at the National Games 2025.
However, her selection for the Indian team at this year’s Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, Republic of Korea, remains at the discretion of the AFI.
At the Mangrum Invitational, Sophie McManus secured the second position with a time of 10:50.93s, while Hannah Chau finished third in 10:58.98s.
This was Ankita’s third competitive appearance in the 3000m steeplechase and her second of the year, following her gold medal performance at the National Games 2025. She had made her debut in the event at the Indian Open U23 Athletics Competition 2024 in Patna, where she emerged victorious.
Parul Chaudhary holds the national record in the women’s 3000m steeplechase with a timing of 9:15.31s, set at the World Athletics Championships 2023 in Budapest.
The Mangrum Invitational is an annual track and field event hosted by Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM) at the Mangrum Track and Field in San Marcos, California.
