Ruwiyati eyes victory at Malang

Ruwiyati eyes victory at Malang

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian marathon runner Ruwiyati hopes to win
East Java's Malang International Marathon in April.

Alwi Mugiyanto, trainer and manager of the Tiger Lokomotiv
Salatiga athletics club, said on Sunday that Ruwiyati is
currently training for the event at the Central Javanese towns of
Noebong near Salatiga and around nearby Mount Merbabu.

Club member Ruwiyati won the Malang marathon in 1995. She did
not take part in the following year's race because of illness.

She won a gold medal in the marathon event at the 1995 SEA
Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and will take part in the 25-
kilometer race in Manila later this month.

In the Chiang Mai Games, Ruwiyati clocked two hours, 34
minutes and 29.12 seconds, breaking the SEA Games record. She
finished faster than Singapore's Yvone Danson Tan, who finished
second.

"The Malang race is a warmup for the Jakarta Games," Alwi said
as quoted by Antara news agency, referring to the upcoming SEA
Games in October.

Ruwiyati said she is hoping to win in Malang and then go on to
compete with runners from other Southeast Asian countries in
Jakarta.

Alwi said that no indication had so far been provided by
either the Indonesian Athletics Association (PASI) or the
Indonesian Sports Council (KONI) regarding Ruwiyati's
participation in the October games.

"We have not yet received any word, either from PASI or from
KONI," he said. "We are hoping that Ruwiyati will be able to take
part in the coming SEA Games."

Djoko Pramono, training director for the Jakarta Games, said
recently that a decision on Ruwiyati's participation in the
coming SEA Games would be made in June, following a physical
examination.

"Ruwiyati is suffering from osteoporosis and is undergoing
treatment now. Hopefully, she will have recovered by June," Djoko
said.

Alwi said he was optimistic that, if Ruwiyati recovers, she
will be able to win two golds in the 10,000 meters and marathon
events.

"Ruwiyati had only trained intensively for one month before
breaking the records at the last Games," he said. "If she passes
the physical examination in June, she will be better prepared
(this time)," he added. (lnt)