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Going the Distance Together has Greater Value for Hiruni Wijayaratne and Luis Orta at World Athletics Half Marathon Championships

Published by
DyeStat.com   Oct 15th 2020, 7:03pm
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Kentucky graduates, professional coaches and engaged couple have traveled from Colorado to Poland to represent Sri Lanka and Venezuela again in global competition, an even more significant feat this year during the pandemic

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor/Photos courtesy of Nate Castner

During a relationship that has spanned more than a decade and covered thousands of miles, both running and traveling, this trip to Poland might be the most meaningful for Luis Orta and Hiruni Wijayaratne.

Although the distance runners, Kentucky graduates and engaged couple have represented their respective countries in previous major global competitions, earned international medals and set several national records – Wijayaratne boasts 11 for Sri Lanka and Orta has four for Venezuela – being able to compete Saturday in the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Gdynia has taken on extra significance as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Not only is it the only major global championship meet being organized by World Athletics this year, but the attendance of the Colorado residents and coaching professionals has only been magnified by the fact that USA Track and Field decided not to send a team to participate in the competition in northern Poland, citing health concerns and risks associated with COVID-19.

“It’s always special to be able to attend a global championship together and represent our home countries,” said Wijayaratne, who also attended the 2017 World Championships in London with Orta, as both athletes competed in the marathon.

“For us, this is the epitome of why we work hard daily. We invest in ourselves and each other, so when an opportunity like this is available we are in a prime position to make the most of it. (We know) 2020 has been a tough year for everyone, and of course our plans haven’t gone perfectly either. This is Luis’ first race since the Houston Half Marathon in January.”

Although Saturday might be the first competition for Orta in nearly nine months, it will be his record-setting third appearance for Venezuela at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships, more than any athlete in his country’s history.

Orta, 31, finished 81st in Denmark in 2014 and improved to 48th in Spain in 2018, setting the national record of 63 minutes, 9 seconds. Carlos Emilio Tarazona ran 62:43 in 1993 in Caracas, but that performance hasn’t been recognized by Venezuelan officials for record purposes.

“I am at a completely different level than when I raced those previous years. I have run 1:03 for the half five times in a row, while being injured, fatigued, bad weather, not ready, etc. I know I am due for a really fast time and really good race,” Orta said. “So even if it’s not a perfect day, I am confident I can come back home with a big PB and national record. My training is also at a new and totally different level. I am doing workouts that I could have never dreamt of before. For me the pandemic was great in the sense that it gave me a fresh start. I was able to take a break, restart from zero and leave all those nagging injuries behind.”

Although Wijayaratne, 29, had more racing opportunities than her fiance’ this summer, it was a disappointing performance during a half marathon race in Texas in March that allowed her to take a necessary break following a heavy schedule in 2019 that included four marathons, in order for she and veteran coach Pete Sherry to evaluate the rest of her year from both a training and competition standpoint during the pandemic.

The decision paid dividends when Wijayaratne eclipsed the Sri Lankan national 5,000-meter record Aug. 15 by running 16:17.51 at the Music City Distance Carnival in Nashville, Tenn.

“My coach always says, ‘It’s better to be 10 percent under cooked than even 1 percent over-done,’” Wijayaratne said. “Earlier this year and during my race in March, I felt like I was 20 percent over-cooked. The global racing drought was a great chance for me to reset, rest and rebuild. I feel pretty good about my fitness and freshness. I’ve completed workouts at a quality I’ve never done before.

“The half marathon distance requires not only fitness but tremendous courage. It hurts very early on. I hope I can channel the strength of Hiruni 2020, with the courage of Hiruni 2008, which is my best high school year.”

Wijayaratne, the first female athlete to represent Sri Lanka at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships since Sujeewa Jayasena in 2004, is not only looking to challenge her national record 74:07, but also complete her first race at a major global competition.

She is hoping her marathon victory in December at the South Asian Games in Kathmandu, Nepal, was the breakthrough necessary to overcome any lingering mental obstacles after not finishing marathon races at the World Championships in 2017 in London and again last year in Doha, Qatar.

“I have struggled at major championships the past four years. Weather in Doha aside, I realized I didn’t handle the pressure of the task at hand, and the disruption to my typical routine well,” Wijayaratne said. “My first major win at the international level came in December, half a world away in Nepal. Reflecting on my attitude and preparedness to that event, I have some new tools in my tool box for championship racing.”

Although Orta will be joined in Poland by fellow Venezuelan athletes Marvin Blanco and Alexis Pena Santiago, allowing the country to score as a team at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships for the first time since 2008, he is looking for another individual highlight to add to a career resume that also includes an appearance at the 2016 Olympics.

“I am fit, ready and this opportunity could not have come at a better time,” Orta said. “I haven’t raced since Houston, where I had a pretty mediocre race. I was just not in good shape and on top of that I had to Aquajog the last two weeks of my training due to an Achilles’ injury. I still was able to manage to run 63, but I was extremely disappointed with my performance. Since then, I took a break and started training consistently and injury free.

“I have not ‘raced’ but I did run a time trial 10k and 15k at 6,000 feet of elevation here in Boulder, and I was able to run pretty quick. In the 15k, I was even able to unofficially break a national record (at altitude).”

Following 28 hours of traveling and multiple COVID-19 tests, Orta and Wijayaratne are ready to take the next step on their journey together Saturday by completing the 5-kilometer circuit loop in the heart of Gdynia, before finishing along the main beach by coast of the the Baltic Sea.

Just being part of such a unique event during an unprecedented year is another memorable chapter they both can reflect on with great pride during their pursuit of Olympic berths together in Tokyo next summer.

“I realized that the best chance for a good performance is to control what I can, holding myself accountable, and cut the noise around me,” Wijayaratne said. “If I can execute this, the remainder of 2020 and 2021 will handle itself.”



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