Ruwiyati shuns SEA Games title defense

Ruwiyati shuns SEA Games title defense

JAKARTA (JP): The country's best female marathon runner,
Ruwiyati, has refused to defend her title at the 19th Southeast
Asian Games here next year to protest her exclusion from the
marathon at the ongoing National Games (PON).

The chief of Central Java's track and field organization,
Karseno, said yesterday that his runner could not understand why
the Games committee had barred her from competing in her favorite
race.

The committee refused to let 18-year-old Ruwiyati compete in
Saturday's race because a medical check-up conducted by it had
found a bone disorder in her legs.

The International Amateur Athletics Association has banned
athletes under the age of 20 from the marathon for health
reasons. But the Games committee had promised to let Ruwiyati run
if she had a clean bill of health.

Ruwiyati won the marathon and the 10,000m at the last National
Games three years ago. She also won the SEA Games marathon,
breaking the meet's record, last December.

The tiny runner, just 1.50 meters tall, retained her 10,000m
title convincingly Thursday, beating her personal best of
36:02.65 by 1.35 seconds.

"If she was banned from the marathon on a medical basis, why
did the committee let her run in the 10,000 meters ?" Karseno
said.

"The organizers have hurt Ruwiyati's feelings by applying such
an inconsistent policy," He said. "She has trained hard, but to
no avail."

Karseno said the Central Java track and field organization
would support Ruwiyati if the Indonesian Amateur Athletics
Association took any measures against her.

"Our support doesn't mean a rebellion, but a call for better
educated decisions," Karseno said.

In the absence of Ruwiyati, Hilda Napitupulu won the women's
marathon in a disappointing time of 3:10:06.68, more than 35
minutes outside Ruwiyati's personal best, which earned her the
SEA Games gold medal. (amd)