Vithya Ramraj won bronze in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday, clocking a personal best of 54.75 seconds. The run broke PT Usha’s 42-year-old national record of 55.42 seconds, set at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

The race was won by Mariam Kareem of the UAE in a Games record of 54.31 seconds. Kazakhstan’s Adelina Zems took silver with a personal best of 54.58. India’s Anu Raghavan finished fifth with her own personal best of 55.88.

Ramraj had matched Usha’s record at the 2023 Hangzhou Games, where she also won bronze. On Monday, she finally went past it, becoming the first Indian woman to run under the old mark.

The medal is Ramraj’s second at these Games. She was part of the Indian mixed 4x400m relay team that won silver on 24 September, clocking 3:14.46.

PT Usha, now president of the Indian Olympic Association, congratulated Ramraj, calling it an incredibly special moment and saying records are meant to be broken.