Vikas Gowda

Vikas Shive Gowda (born 5 July 1983) is an Indian discus thrower and shot putter. Born in Mysore, he grew up in Frederick, Maryland in the United States. His father, Shive Gowda, coached the 1988 Indian Olympic track team. Vikas Gowda is a Padma Shri awardee in 2017.

He is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the 2006 US NCAA National Champion in discus.

His personal best throw is 66.28 meters which is also Indian national record in discus throw, achieved in 2012. He contested at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but failed to reach the finals after finishing 22nd in the qualifiers, with a throw of 60.69 m. In 2012 London Olympics, Vikas qualified for the finals, at the fifth place, with a throw of 65.20 m and finished eighth in the final.

He won his first gold medal in Asian Championships in 2013 in Pune, with a throw of 64.90 meters. He won the discus throw event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which made him the second Indian man to win a Commonwealth gold medal, 56 years after Milkha Singh.

After the qualification standard was lowered, he qualified for the 2016 Olympics in the discus, making this his fourth Olympics.

He was the first ever Indian athlete to finish in the top 3 of a Diamond League meet, and as of 2022, only two other Indian athletes had matched his feat.