Hiruni makes bold statement in Canada
US based Lankan Hiruni Wijayarathne showcased her capabilities once again clocking 2 hours 38 minutes 13 seconds, to finish 16th in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Canada last Sunday, rising out of some disappointment at the Doha World Championship three weeks ago.
Coming in as a last minute entry for the event Hiruni finished 16th in the event out of 1,211 female participants. Her time is also the third fastest of the event and she now holds the top three fastest times by a Sri Lankan female marathoner. All three times are better than the previous record of 2:40.07 seconds held by Niluka Rajasekara.
“I am so happy to finish. After Doha, I have not been feeling well. It was important for me to try and prove that I am a good marathoner,” said Hiruni after the race.
Earlier the 28-year-old qualified for the World Championship by clocking 2:34.10 seconds (a new South Asian record) at the Dusseldorf Marathon, Germany in April, and was the only qualifier from Sri Lanka. Despite going through an extended preparation for the Doha World Championship to cope up with the heat and time difference to run a mid-night marathon, she found out that conditions were way worse than anyone expected as 28 out of 60 participants (including Hiruni) gave up the women’s marathon that registered the slowest World Championship winning time ever on 27th October .
Hiruni missed out from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games qualification despite running a better time than the qualification time, as she achieved this time outside the period of eligibility to qualify for the Games. Thereafter she has vastly improved herself as a marathoner as well as a distance runner, qualifying for the 2017 as well as 2019 World Championship, while being the only Asian female athlete to finish the Marathon at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Thereafter, Hiruni represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in Indonesia but competed only in the 10,000m.
Earlier this year she competed for the first time in Sri Lanka and won both the 5000m and 10000m at the National Championship and is hoping to go for double Gold in the 10000m and Marathon in the forthcoming South Asian Games.
Her prime target however is to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which was made tougher last year by a change in the qualification system. For the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the qualification time for the women’s marathon was 2 hours and 45 minutes, but for 2020 Tokyo Olympics the direct qualification time has been brought down by 15.30 minutes and the new standard is 2 hours, 29 minutes 30 seconds.
Unlike many Sri Lanka athletes, Hiruni does not have the luxury of focussing just on athletics, a luxury many SL athletes enjoy within Sri Lanka as their jobs with the armed forces allows them to stay at home, at an athletics hostel or their official residence given by the forces, and focus just on athletics with free coaching, physiotherapists and ground facilities.
In Hiruni’s case, she has to earn her living in the States, where she attends to her job during the day while squeezing in practices between the morning and evening. She is still focussed on representing Sri Lanka in the international arena, including city marathons such as the Canadian marathon, bearing all costs herself .
“My eyes are set on the Olympics still. The target of 2:29….. I will run that time soon!” said Hiruni, who is determined to overcome all barriers to get in to the Tokyo 2020 team.
Breakdown of Hiruni’s Race
Women’s Results
