Sri Lankan track and field athletes continue to provide glimmers of hope for Sri Lanka during these trying times with incredible performances in the international arena.
Hiruni Wijayarathna, Sri Lanka’s leading long-distance runner, who is domiciled in the USA but represents Sri Lanka in competitions, has delivered a terrific run at the Dusseldorf Marathon. Hiruni was placed second in the marathon clocking a time of 2:34:10 which is a new national record, bettering her previous national record of 2:36:35. This is also the best performance by a South Asian Athlete in the women’s marathon.
With this performance Hiruni also achieved qualification for the 2019 IAAF World Athletic Championship which will be held at the Khalifa stadium in Doha Qatar from 27th September to 6th October. She is the first Sri Lankan athlete to have earned qualification for the said championship.
Sharing her thoughts after the her win Hiruni who competed with a black band around her arm said how thinking about her fellow countrymen in Sri Lanka helped her through the difficult parts of the race “It was windy 7-10 Celsius temperature. Race was excellent. I was the first woman from the very beginning. Went through 21k at 1:15.40 (so 2:32 marathon pace) kept the lead as first woman until 35k when I was passed by a German. My legs were cramping, stomach in knots I just kept telling myself to be strong, This is not pain compared to the pain my fellow Sri Lankan’s endured last week.”
The inspirational marathoner dedicated her victory to Sri Lanka adding “This marathon is for the people of my Sri Lanka. Today I ran with more than my legs, with my heart. When my legs started giving up at 35k, I reminded myself this pain is nothing compared to what so many people experienced last Sunday, I hope my Silver medal and new marathon national record, can be a small display of hope. Bad people may try to disturb our happiness, we stand united always for a brighter tomorrow.”
