No Games for Ruwiyati without doctor's certificate
No Games for Ruwiyati without doctor's certificate
JAKARTA (JP): Ruwiyati will not compete in the SEA Games here
unless she can present a doctor's certificate to prove she is
healthy, Pieter Noya, a training coordinator for the Games, said
yesterday
Pieter told The Jakarta Post that the test by Ichramsyah
Tahman, Ruwiyati's doctor, did not prove that the national
marathoner was fit for the biennial Games.
"We want Ruwiyati's doctor in Semarang to provide us a
certificate stating that she is fit to attend training for the
Games. All we have heard is from the medical test and this it not
enough proof that she's really fit," Pieter said.
Pieter said the results of Ichramsyah's test did not specify
her condition in detail. "Is she 100 percent suffering from
osteoporosis, that's what we want to know. We want precise
details on Ruwiyati's health."
Pieter knows the 19-year-old marathoner well and was once her
coach. Pieter is an International Amateur Athletics Federation
(IAAF) certified coach and has been training national athletes
since 1963.
Total rest
Pieter agreed with the opinion of Djoko Pramono, the Games
training director, that Ruwiyati should take a break from running
and not compete in any international marathons until she had
fully recovered.
"I agree with Djoko that Ruwiyati should take another medical
test in May after it was discovered that her health was
deteriorating. I agree also that the marathoner should not take
part in East Java's Malang International Marathon on March 30
because I fear that she will suffer another injury," Pieter said.
Pieter said Ruwiyati's participation in the Malang race was
against IAAF rules.
"IAAF ruled that only runners above 20 years of age may
compete in international races. Should Ruwiyati compete in the
Malang race, she and the organizer must face the IAAF," Pieter
said.
On whether Ruwiyati could join the Jakarta Games, Pieter said
this all depended on her training performance with the national
squad in Jakarta.
"We are strict on our athletes and have applied that only
those who have passed the training are eligible for the Games.
Those who fail in training are dropped from Indonesia's athletics
team for the Games. This also applies to Ruwiyati, she has to
pass the training first before she qualifies for the team,"
Pieter said.
Ruwiyati, a member of the Tiger Lokomotif Salatiga club, was
expected to win a marathon gold medal at the Games in October.
She won a gold medal in the marathon at the 1995 SEA Games in
Chiang Mai, Thailand, when she clocked two hours 34 minutes and
29.12 seconds, breaking the SEA Games record. Singapore's Yvone
Danson Tan finished second.
The National Sports Council is expected to decide in June
whether Ruwiyati can run at the Games.
Ruwiyati said Wednesday that her health was improving.
Ruwiyati told Antara news agency in Salatiga that she was
training hard in Noebong, near Salatiga, Central Java, and around
nearby Mount Merbabu.
"I do not feel any pain while I am running. I am ready to
compete in any race," she said.
She is now concentrating on the Malang marathon which she
hopes to win as she did in 1995. Illness stopped her competing in
the event last year. (lnt)