Hima Das (Born on 9 January 2000 in Dhing, Nagaon, Assam) is Indian sprinter. Hima is the first Indian sprinter, who won a Gold medal at any world athletics event. She won the gold medal in women's 400m at the World U-20 Championships 2018 at Tampere.
Hima's father is a rice farmer, she is the eldest of four children. Hima attended the Dhing Public high School and began playing football as a child. She played the sport with the boys at her school and wanted to pursue a career in football. Later, on the suggestion of Shamsul Haque, a Physical Education Trainer from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Das switched over to athletics and began participating in short and middle distance races.
Hima Das caught the attention of Nipon Das, an athletics coach from the Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare during an inter-district competition. Describing her as a rare talent Nipon Das said that Hima Das' "dedication and hard work set her apart".
Hima competed at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in the 400m and the 4x400m relay. In the 400m, Das qualified for the final where she finished sixth in a time of 51.32 seconds, 1.17 seconds behind gold medalist Amantle Montsho from Botswana. In the 4x400m relay she was part of the Indian team that competed in the final. They finished seventh, with a time of 3 minutes and 33.61 seconds.
Hima became the first Indian track athlete to hold a global title on winning the Gold medal at the World U-20 Championships 2018 at Tampere, Finland, in Women's 400m with a time of 51.46 seconds. Das is now part of a group of Indian athletes who have won medals at the World U20 Championships, which includes Seema Punia (Bronze, Discus throw), Navjeet Kaur Dhillon (Bronze, Discus throw) and Neeraj Chopra (Gold, Javelin throw).
