Lankan marathoners excel in Selection Trial for international races

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RMS Pushpakumara from the Sri Lanka Army, RW Rathnapala, and M Sivarajan from the Sri Lanka Air Force secured victories in a marathon selection event organized by Sri Lak Athletics Club and overseen by Sri Lanka Athletics yesterday.

The purpose of this trial was to choose participants for upcoming marathons, including the Asian Marathon, Hong Kong/Vietnam Marathon, and Bangabandu Marathon scheduled for early next year.

The race, covering a 30km distance, began at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) and concluded in Pamunugama, Ja-ela, marking the first-ever Road Race of its kind organized by Sri Lak Athletic Club.

Approximately 40 marathoners, representing the tri-forces and Sri Lak Athletic Club, participated in the race, which eventually six women runners and 17 male competitors finished the race. The competition was conducted for both men and women in the Open categories.

In the Open Women’s Race, Sri Lanka Navy’s PM Perera secured the first place, followed by WM Herath of the Sri Lanka Army and NL Ariyadasa of the Sri Lanka Air Force in the second and third places,respectively.

As there were no marathon events in major recent sports competitions like the National Sports Festival, Sri Lanka Athletics decided to utilize this event as a selection trial for Sri Lanka’s representation in upcoming foreign competitions within the next six months. Considering the need for athletes to have a three-month rest after a full marathon, this trial was seen as a crucial step in the selection process.

Although the marathon distance was slightly shorter at about 30km, it was considered for selecting participants for the Hanoi International Marathon on January 1 in Vietnam, the 19th Asian Marathon Championships on January 21 in Hong Kong, and the renowned Bangabandhu Dhaka Marathon on February 9 in Bangladesh. The Sri Lanka Athletics organization plans to select two marathoners for the Bangabandhu Marathon, one for the Hong Kong marathon, and another for the Vietnam marathon.

Additionally, Sri Lanka Athletics aims to form a marathon pool for both men and women, targeting the South Asian Games scheduled for early 2024 in Lahore, Pakistan. The marathon featured the top long-distance runners from Sri Lanka.

Results:

Men:

1 MS Pushpakumara (SL Army) 1:42.07, 2 TW Ratnapala (SL Air Force) 1:42.23, 3 M Sivarajan (SL Air Force) 1:43.14, 4 NS Karunaratne (SL Navy) 1:43.37, 5 MS Kumara (SL Navy) 1:43.17, 6 PP Somarathna (SL Army) 1:46.29, 7 AM Wijeratne (SL Army) 1:48.23, 8 MU Kumara (SL Army) 1:51.07, 9 IM Hewage (SL Navy) 1:54.29, 10 DS Premaratne (SL Navy) 1:56.23, 11 Priyankara Bandara (Sri Lak AC) 1:58.11, 12 MR Bandara (SL Police) 1:58.45, 13 HN Priyankara (SL Army) 1:59.18, 14 MR Karunaratne (SL Army) 2:02.27, 15 PN Soysa (SL Air Force) 2:03.42, 16 AN Tharuka (SL Army) 2:05.34, 17 MK Ariyaratne (SL Police) 2:12.48.

Women:

1 PM Perera (SL Navy) 1:56.59, 2 WM Herath (Army) 2:01.15, 3 NL Ariyadasa (SL Air Force) 2:02.53, 4 SD Liyanage (SL Army) 2:03.43, 5 MN Nidarshana (SL Army) 2:07.13, 6 Velu Krishanthini (SL Navy) 2:18.20.

SAJEEWA JAYAKODY Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).