Archive · 12 Sep 2026
P.T. Usha Revisits Iconic 1980s Athletics Journey With Throwback Photos
P.T. Usha shared old photos from when she was a famous runner in the 1980s.
People know her by the nickname “Payyoli Express.”
She competed in three Olympic Games.
In 1984, she narrowly missed a medal in the 400-meter hurdles.
She was the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic athletics final.
She also won important medals at the Asian Games, including four gold medals in 1986.
Later, she helped train young athletes and worked in sports leadership.
She is now the president of the Indian Olympic Association.
For Usha, the 1980s photos show the years when she built her sporting legacy.
P.T. Usha shared rare photographs from her 1980s athletics career on social media.
Known as the “Payyoli Express,” Usha competed at the 1980, 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games.
She became the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic athletics final.
Usha won India’s first athletics medal at the 1982 Asian Games and four gold medals at the 1986 Asian Games.
After retiring from competition, she moved into sports administration and became Indian Olympic Association president.
- Who
- Legendary Indian sprinter and Indian Olympic Association President P.T. Usha.
- What
- She shared throwback photographs from her 1980s athletics career and reflected on her journey.
- When
- Recently, during renewed social-media interest in 1980s culture, roughly four decades after her defining athletics years.
- Where
- On social media; the photographs recall competitions in Moscow, Los Angeles and Seoul.
- Why
- To revisit the era that established her as a trailblazing athlete and the “Payyoli Express.”
- Nickname
- “Payyoli Express”
- Olympic appearances
- Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988
- Olympic milestone
- First Indian woman to reach an Olympic athletics final
- 1984 Olympics
- Finished fourth in the 400m hurdles
- Asian Games achievements
- India’s first athletics medal at the 1982 Asian Games and four gold medals at the 1986 Asian Games
- Sports administration
- Elected unopposed as Indian Olympic Association president in December after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2022
- Athlete development
- Associated with the Usha School of Athletics in Kozhikode, Kerala