This video shows Indian sprinter Hima Das winning her first gold medal in July 2018

This article is more than one year old.
Published on August 5, 2019 at 09:25
2 min read
By AFP India

A video of Indian athlete Hima Das taking part in a race has been viewed tens of thousands of times in July 2019 in multiple YouTube and Facebook posts which claim it shows her winning her fifth gold medal in the women’s 400 metres. The footage is being used in a misleading context; it actually shows Das winning her first gold medal in the women's 400 metres at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, in July 2018.

The one minute, 43 seconds video was published here on YouTube on July 20, 2019. It has been viewed more than 150,000 times.

The clip shows Indian sprinter Hima Das participating in a 400 metres women’s race. The yellow text superimposed on the video states: “Hima Das Won 5th Gold 400 m Women”.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

Corresponding videos with identical claims have also been viewed thousands of times in Facebook posts published in July 2019, including here and here.

Das won her fifth gold medal in one month at this women’s 400 metres race held on July 20, 2019 in Nove Mesto nad Metuji, Czech Republic.

Her feat was reported by Indian media, for example here and here, and she also published this tweet about it on July 20 on her verified profile.

However, the video in the misleading posts is from July 2018. It shows the moment Das won gold in the women’s 400 metres race at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Das uploaded an identical video of the same length here on her verified Facebook page on July 12, 2019.

The caption states: “Today is the most memorable day of my life. On this day in 2018, i became the first Indian track athlete to win gold medal in the @iaaforg World U20 Championship. I will continue to work hard and achieve more for my country. #ProudIndian
@afiindia @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @iosindiaoff”

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading Facebook post (L) and the Facebook video uploaded by Hima Das (R):

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) reported on the outcome of that race on its website here on July 12, 2018.

The IAAF also posted this tweet on July 13, 2018, containing a shorter video of the race which matches the footage in the misleading YouTube video from around 1:02 to around 1:30, followed by some extra clips of her win filmed from different angles and in slow-motion.

That IAAF tweet is embedded below:

And this is how Him Das became the first Indian woman to win an #IAAFworlds title pic.twitter.com/0Zhx0QuxZI
— IAAF (@iaaforg) July 12, 2018

Das also tweeted on July 13, 2018 here about winning her first gold medal.

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