First Sri Lankan Olympian female Marathon runner Niluka Rajasekara, has been invited to take part in the Gold Coast airport marathon that will be held on the 2nd of July 2017 in Gold Coast Australia.
Gold Coast Airport marathon, is an A grade Gold label marathon. Gold label is the highest grade awarded to a marathon by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) and the Gold Coast marathon now lies in the elite company of New York City Marathon, Boston Marathon, Tokyo Marathon, Berlin Marathon, London Marathon, and Chicago Marathon. It is expected that the marathon will see the participation of 3000 foreign athletes, with participation to soar up to 30000 athletes in total.
It’s the first instance that a Sri Lankan female marathon runner has been invited to take part in the elite category of this IAAF A grade gold standard marathon and Olympian Rajasekara will be competing alongside the top international athletes that include the Ethiopian, Japanese, Australian and New Zealand competitors.
This is a yet another milestone for the long distance athlete as she has already represented the country at the 2015 IAAF World championships and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Rajasekara recorded the current national record time of 2 hours and 40mins at the Hong Kong marathon and with that secured a ticket to Rio Olympics 2016.
Rajasekarahas has been focused on training towards the marathon and is determined to put up a good performance. Speaking to ThePapare.com from the Gold Coast, Niluka’s trainer Janaka Samarasinghe stated that “Niluka has prepared well for the marathon and she is determined to finish in the top 15 overall, top 3 in her age group and most importantly to run under 2 hours and 40 minutes and gain qualification for IAAF World Championship later this year in London.” He also didn’t forget to thank the organisers adding “we would like to specially thank Queensland Event Management and Volaresports for giving us this opportunity.”
ThePapare.com congratulates Niluka Rajasekara for achieving yet another remarkable feat and wish her all the very best in her attempt to finish the race below 2 hours 40 minutes to qualify for the World Championships and with it renew her own National record.
