Who is Gulveer Singh? Meet the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games medal in men's 10,000m

Indian long-distance runner Gulveer Singh created history at the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG) on Tuesday after he won silver in the men's 10,000m event.

By doing so, Gulveer became the first Indian ever to clinch a medal at the men's 10,000m as he clocked a time of 27:49.78. He finished only behind Australia's Ky Robinson, who won the gold medal with a time of 27:44.07.

Who is Gulveer Singh?

Gulveer Singh was born on 1 June 1998 in the village of Sirsa, in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district.

He was born to a farming family and wasn't very aware of sporting competitions like the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

“I did not know much about the Commonwealth Games or the Asian Games. In my village, very few people knew about these competitions,” the 28-year-old was quoted as saying by the Inspire Institute of Sports.

It was only in 2018 that Gulveer realised his dream of becoming an athlete when he joined the Indian Army through a sports quota. He was posted with the Grenadiers Regiment of the Indian Army and later promoted to the rank of Junior Commissioned Officer.

“I truly learned about competitive running only after joining the army. I was inducted into the Army Sports Institute and later joined the Sports Authority of India national camp. Gradually, I learned more about the sport and the people involved,” he added.

Gulveer spent his early years in athletics adapting to the demands of elite distance running while juggling his responsibilities in the Indian Army. The hard work eventually paid off in 2022, four years after he began competing at the senior level.

His breakthrough came at the Federation Cup in Calicut, where he claimed the bronze medal in the men's 10,000m—his first podium finish in senior competition.

That performance proved to be a turning point in his career, establishing him among India's top distance runners and paving the way for regular opportunities on the international stage.

In 2023, Gulveer won bronze in the men's 5000m at the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok, and followed it up with a bronze medal in the men's 10,000m event at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

He shifted his training base to Colorado Springs, USA, in 2024 and trained under American coach Scott Simmons. In the two seasons that followed, Gulveer built his reputation as one of Asia's best long-distance runners, repeatedly breaking records in the 3000m, 5000m and 10000m events.

Gulveer Singh's rise to international fame

Gulveer burst onto the international scene at The TEN in California in March 2024, breaking the 16-year-old Indian men's 10,000m record with a time of 27:41.81, surpassing the mark set by his former coach Surender Singh.

Eight months later, he lowered the national record again in Japan, clocking 27:14.88 to climb to eighth on Asia's all-time list.

Gulveer enjoyed the finest season of his career in 2025, completing a remarkable long-distance double at the Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea. He clinched gold in both the men's 10,000m and 5,000m, with his winning time of 13:24.77 in the latter, setting a new championship record.

The Indian distance runner carried that momentum into the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Although he narrowly missed out on a place in the men's 5,000m final, Gulveer impressed by finishing ninth in his heat with a time of 13:42.34, falling just 0.19 seconds short of qualification.

He continued to scale new heights in 2026, becoming the first Indian to complete a half-marathon in under 60 minutes after clocking 59:42 to finish third at the New York City Half Marathon.

A month earlier, Gulveer had also broken into the top 10 of the World Athletics men's 10,000m rankings, underlining his rise among the world's elite distance runners.