Sri Lanka Army athlete Geethani Rajasekara produced a stunning performance at the Asian Marathon Championship in Hong Kong yesterday.
She established a new National Record to become the first female from Sri Lanka to qualify for the IAAF World Championships marathon and to have realistic hopes of becoming the first female from the country to run at Olympics.
“I am delighted to have run this timing here. I was determined and my coach was very optimistic that I could accomplish this. And I am really happy about my feat,” said Rajasekara in a telephone interview with The Island after her record breaking feat yesterday.
Rajasekara bettered her own National Record when she clocked two hours, 40 minutes and 07 seconds to finish fifth in the Asian Marathon which was held alongside the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.
It was her first overseas marathon and her second marathon overall. Her previous National Record was set at two hours, 47 minutes and 55 seconds when she competed in a marathon for the first time at the Colombo Marathon late last year.
With her impressive timing she can now have realistic hopes of becoming the first female from Sri Lanka to run at an Olympic Marathon.
The IAAF qualifying standard for the Rio Olympics are yet to be announced but going by the previous qualifying standards (London Olympics) her performance is likely to be within the qualifying standards.
Her coach Sajith Jayalal said that his charge has proved beyond doubt that she could reach greater heights. “We can have hopes. She has proved that she can brush shoulders against world class athletes. If we can look after her for two more years we can have hopes,” Jayalal told The Island in a telephone interview from Hong Kong.
Country’s leading cross country and long distance runner (5,000m), Rajasekara took to marathon late last year and shattered a long standing National Women’s Marathon record in her very first attempt sparking hopes of an Olympic berth.
