Ruwiyati may take part in Olympics

Ruwiyati may take part in Olympics

JAKARTA (JP): Ruwiyati, who won the women's marathon gold
medal at the just concluded 18th Southeast Asian Games in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, looks set to represent Indonesia at the 1996
Olympic Games in Atlanta, his coach said.

Alwi Mugiyanto, manager and coach of Ruwiyati's club
Lokomotive, said yesterday at his base camp in Salatiga, Central
Java, that Ruwiyati would automatically represent Indonesia at
the world's biggest sporting event due to her record breaking
time.

The 18-year-old runner clocked two hours, 34 minutes and 29
seconds to beat the old mark of 2:45:43 set by compatriot Suryati
Marija in Kuala Lumpur in 1989.

Indonesia romped home with all the two marathon gold medals
after Suyono finished first in the men's race in another record
breaking time of 2:21.02.

"Ruwiyati has proved that she is our best long-distance
runner," Alwi told Antara. It will be the first Olympic
appearance for national record holder Ruwiyati, if she qualifies.

Chairman of the Indonesian Track and Field Association,
Mohammad 'Bob' Hasan, said earlier female runners who manage to
run under 2:40 deserve a place in the Summer Games.

Alwi said he would face a greater challenge to prepare his
runner to compete at the Olympic Games. "I'm out to polish her
performance to become a tough long distance runner at the Olympic
Games," he said. (05)