Four-Time Olympian, Record-Breaking Discus Champion

Vikas Gowda, a Frederick High School graduate, is one of India’s most accomplished track and field athletes and a four-time Olympian. Born on July 5, 1983, in Mysore, Karnataka, India, Gowda moved to Frederick, Maryland, at age 6. Initially drawn to sprinting and jumping, he transitioned to the shot put and discus as he matured, displaying extraordinary talent in throwing events from a young age.

At Frederick High, Gowda dominated the state scene, winning seven Maryland state titles in shot put and discus. He set the state discus record in 2001 at 200’2”, a mark that still stands today. His achievements included a National Scholastic meet victory in discus, where he broke the meet record, and he earned recognition as Maryland Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year and Track & Field News All-American in both shot put and discus.

Highly recruited, Gowda attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he majored in mathematics and continued his dominance in throwing events. He set school records in indoor shot put (64’3.75”) and discus (211’3”), earned multiple All-America honors, and was a four-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion. In 2006, he became the NCAA National Champion in discus, solidifying his place among collegiate track and field’s elite.

Gowda’s international career is equally distinguished. Holding dual citizenship in India and the United States, he represented India in four Olympic Games: 2004 (Athens), 2008 (Beijing), 2012 (London), and 2016 (Rio de Janeiro), with his best finish coming in London, where he placed eighth in the discus final. He set the Indian national discus record at 66.28 meters in 2012. He earned a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a historic gold in 2014, the first for an Indian male in athletics in 56 years. Gowda also claimed multiple gold medals at the Asian Championships and medaled at the Asian Games.

For his contributions to Indian athletics, Gowda received the Arjuna Award in 2014 and the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, in 2017. He retired from competition in 2018