Krishna Jayasankar crosses the 17m mark in shot put.

The 23-year-old Indian shot putter recorded a lifetime best of 17.09m to break the indoor National Record.

 

Krishna Jayasankar Menon is a prominent Indian athlete who has recently made headlines for repeatedly breaking the Indian national indoor shot put record. Based in the USA at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), she has emerged as one of India’s most promising talents in the throwing events.

National Indoor Record: She shattered the national record multiple times in early 2026, most recently recording a lifetime best of 17.09m at the Mountain West Indoor Championships in February 2026.

Historical Milestone: She is the first Indian woman to surpass the 16-meter and 17-meter marks in indoor shot put.
Outdoor Performance: Her outdoor personal best in shot put is approximately 16.28m (achieved in April 2026), and she is actively targeting the outdoor national record of 18.41m.
Secondary Event: She is also a highly skilled discus thrower, with a personal best of 55.61m set in May 2025.

 

chievementEvent / MilestoneNational RecordHeld the Women’s Indoor Shot Put record 4 times in a single year (2025–2026).All-AmericanEarned NCAA Second Team All-American honors in 2026.NCAA PioneerFirst Indian female thrower to receive a Division I athletic scholarship in the USA.International GoalsAiming for qualification in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the upcoming Asian Games.

Athletic Pedigree: She comes from a distinguished sporting family; both her parents, Jayasankar Menon and Prasanna Jayasankar, were former captains of the Indian national basketball teams.

Education: She is currently a student-athlete at UNLV, pursuing a Master’s degree while training under renowned coach Steve Lemke.

Affiliation: In India, she is supported by the Reliance Foundation.

Note: While she is dominating the indoor circuit, the all-time Indian shot put record (combining indoor and outdoor) is currently 18.41m, held by Abha Khatua. Krishna has publicly stated her intent to bridge this gap through technical fine-tuning.

Indian shot putter Krishna Jayasankar registered a lifetime best throw by breaching the 17m mark in the women’s shot put at the Mountain West Indoor Championships on Sunday. She registered 17.09m to break the National Record and claim the silver in the meet. Makayla Long won the gold with 17.69m and Erin Brown’s 15.34m fetched her a bronze. Krishna’s effort is 0.26m better than her own national record of 16.83m achieved during the 2026 Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque in February. The effort is the best by an Indian woman in 2025 so far. The outdoor national record of 18.41m in the name of Abha Khatua stands better than this mark. In the final, Krishna threw a distance of 16.30m in her first throw before fouling her next two attempts. She then returned with two 16 plus throws — 16.27m in fourth and 16.64m in fifth. In her final throw, Krishna managed her lifetime best throw of 17.09m. This is the fourth occasion when Krishna improved on the national record in the indoor women’s shot put event. She recorded 16.83m at the 2026 Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque. She threw 16.63m at the New Mexico Open 2026 in Albuquerque, New Mexico (USA), an improvement of half a metre from her previous best of 16.03m last year.

National Record Alert – Krishna Jayasankar! Krishna Jayasankar rewrites the Indian indoor shot put record with a massive 17.09m throw at the Mountain West Indoor Championships 2026, where she finished 2nd.  Record progression in 2026:  16.63m – New Mexico Open  16.83m – Don Kirby Elite Invitational 17.09m – Mountain West Indoor C’ships A steady climb, capped with a historic mark. Indian athletics continues to push new boundaries.