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)