PUMA hosts grand finale of ‘School of Speed’ in Delhi; winners to meet Usain Bolt

Over 1,500 hundered students take off at the Grand Finale of PUMA’s School of Speed in Delhi

New Delhi, Saturday, February 15th, 2014: PUMA kicked off India’s first relay running property for students with the Delhi edition of School of Speed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium today. ‘School of speed’ is a relay race for children between the 7th and 10th std, with each team comprising of 4 members who each run 1 kilometre to compete for the title of the Fastest Team and School. School of Speed is positioned to get students to take up running at an early stage.

The Delhi edition of School of Speed relay race saw over 1,500 students who participated enthusiastically for the title. Held at the imposing Commonwealth Games Stadium – the grand Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at the heart of the city – the event was a true spectacle for sports lovers. In a unique format, all four children from each team ran a total of 4 km together. The teams for School of Speed were categorized into two age groups of – juniors from 7th-8th grade and seniors from 9th-10th grade for boys and girls both.

Key schools such as Modern School Vasant Vihar, Mount Carmel School, Oxford Public School and a host of other schools participated in the event, an indication that the race was well received by students in Delhi. Vidya Gyan School made a clean sweep in the junior boys category and GSS School bagged the junior girls title. Not to be left behind, the senior teams raced competitively to see Vidya Gyan School and GBSSS School win the titles in the senior girls and boys category respectively.

With Delhi hosting the grand finale for School of Speed, the Nation Winners in the senior boys and girls category were GBSS School and Vidya Gyan School respectively. These young athletes have been training hard and have bagged the opportunity to meet the fastest man in the World – Usain Bolt. Winners for the fastest girl and fastest boy were Sarita and Beant Singh from Vidya Gyan School and GBSSS School respectively.

New Delhi emerged the unofficial ‘Fastest City’ because the winning teams for both Senior Boys and Senior Girls were from New Delhi. GBSSS School in New Delhi were the proud winners – with the fastest teams being products of their school.

Talking about the grand finale of School of Speed, Rajiv Mehta, PUMA India MD said – “We at PUMA recognize that exercise is very important for the holistic growth of a child, and School of Speed is a perfect platform to inculcate habits of running and exercise at a grassroots level among students. The grand finale was one of the largest runs for children that the nation has seen, with almost 1,500 children who participated. We hope that next year’s edition of School of Speed will only grow bigger and better so that we can encourage more children in the country to run.”

The national winners from the senior category boys and girls teams - GBSS School and Vidya Gyan School - will now move on to an exclusive meet with Usain Bolt. The winners have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet their sporting icon – Bolt! By providing such unique opportunities and prizes for the students, PUMA hopes to continue to inspire children to run.

Delhi Results:

Category	School	Timing
Senior boys	GBSS School	13.42 min
Senior girls	Vidya Gyan School	17.28 min
Junior boys	Vidya Gyan School	15.10 min
Junior girls	GSS School	17:09 min
Fastest School	GBSS School	13:42 min
Fastest City	New Delhi
Fastest Boy Beant Singh, 15 yrs	GBSS School	3.04 min
Fastest Girl Sarita, 14 yrs	Vidya Gyan School	4.03 min
National Team Winners Boys	GBSS School	13.42 min
National Team Winners Girls	Vidya Gyan School	17.28 min