Hiruni Wijayaratne the champion long distance runner based in the USA clichéd a first gold medal in her first appearance at the Athletic Nationals yesterday when she finished the 10,000m event in 35 minutes and 33.23 seconds at the Sugathadasa Stadium.
“It’s a special occasion for me to win the event. It was not my personal best but I think records be can set up anytime at any meet,’’ said Hiruni.
She already holds 10 Sri Lanka records in track and road events like the marathon.
She came one day before the race and finished 11th at the last Commonwealth Games marathon in Gold Coast, Australia last year and that was by far best performance by a Sri Lankan woman athlete at the Commonwealth Games.
Hiruni has already qualified for the World Championships with her performances and her next target is to run at the forthcoming South Asian Games.
“I love to get my first international medal for Sri Lanka in Nepal next December and winning at the Nationals gives me good confidence to look ahead,” said Hiruni.