Sports
An American hurdling for Sri Lanka at Olympics
Waiting for the next Olympic hurdler – Part IV
by Reemus Fernando
In the year 2012, the US had more than dozen female athletes who had run the 400 metres hurdles faster than the IAAF qualifying standard (both ‘A’ and ‘B’) for the London Olympics. The ‘B’ grade qualifying standard was 56.65 seconds. While the countries like Sri Lanka were struggling to qualify athletes for Olympics, the US had a surplus. In fact, in hurdling, the whole of Asia had only three female athletes, the Japanese pair Satomi Kubokura (55.34) and Sayaka Aoki (56.62) and the Chinese Xiaoxiao Huang (56.58), who had run the discipline under the qualifying mark in 2011. By the end of July 2012, six others had managed to run under the ‘A’ and ‘B’ grade standards for Olympics from Asia. During the Olympic qualifying period, the fastest performance of Christine Merrill, born in Bakersfield, a city in Kern County, California was 56.83 seconds. Even achieving an ‘A’ grade qualifying standard does not guarantee a place in the US team for the Olympics. US athletes have to face a trial as there is an excess of qualified athletes to select from.
When more than dozen qualified US hurdlers who could not punch their ticket to the 2012 Olympics were watching the London Olympics on TV back in the US, Christine Merrill took the starters orders in the women’s 400 metres hurdles heats at the London Olympic Stadium. However, neither her name nor her country’s was announced before the race. When she completed the race, last in the fifth heat, she became the first female athlete to have represented Sri Lanka in the 400 metres hurdles at an Olympics. It was not that someone had illegally taken her to the Olympic Village. It all became possible because of her mother’s Sri Lankan origin.
With its massive TV viewer strength, the US has a huge influence when deciding disciplines of the Olympics. The women’s 400 metres hurdles made its debut when the US hosted the Games for the third time in Atlanta in 1984. Six editions after the women’s 400 metres hurdles made its debut Sri Lanka made its namesake first female representation in the 400 metres hurdles in London in 2012. It all became possible because Sri Lanka Athletics had started to look outside for formidable athletes of Sri Lankan origin to form teams for international events. Merrill also represented the country at the 2011 World Championships and also made herself available for championships held in Sri Lanka. A year after her Olympic representation she clocked 56.45 at a competition in the USA. It is the current Sri Lanka national record. Had she not made herself available for Sri Lankan representation by 2011, probably the country would have given its Olympic wildcard to a locally grown sprinter Chandrika Subashini who had clocked 52.52 seconds in the 400 metres flat event in 2011. Subashini was placed fourth at 2011 Asian Championship in Kobe. Later she was elevated to silver medal position after initial gold and silver medallists Kazakhstan’s Olga Tereshkova and Iraq’s Gulustan Ieso, were disqualified after testing positive for banned substances.
Not many have persevered in the 400 metres hurdles in the women’s category at the senior level. Lack of competition has produced sub-standard performances at the national level. Nimali Liyanarachchi who is representing Sri Lanka at the Tokyo Olympics once tried her luck in this discipline clocking 60.85 seconds. While the country’s national record in the women’s 400 metres is held by a US citizen, the country’s national championship record of that discipline is held by a British national, Selvagowry Retchakan. Selvagowry’s National Championship record of 57.5 secs (hand timing) is 30 years old now.
Selvagowry emerged as a future prospect for Sri Lanka from Chandikulam Balika. She represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Games in 1982. But she developed as a force to be reckoned in world athletics only after she moved to the UK. When she took part in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where she ran her lifetime best of 54.63 seconds over the 400 metres hurdles, she was representing the UK. She won two world level medals for the UK when she finished second in the 400 metres hurdles at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and the1992 IAAF World Cup in Havana.
West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl first in the first ODI of Sri Lanka’s tour of the Caribbean. This being a day game, West Indies believed their bowlers could extract some movement from the Sabina Park surface earlier in the day.
West Indies do not have Shimron Hetmyer in their XI, though he is named in the squad. Justin Greaves looks set to open alongside John Campbell. With captain Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford and Roston Chase make up the middle order. Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph and Alzarri Joseph are the frontline seam options.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have also appeared to make a change at the top order, bringing Kamindu Mendis to the opening position. Their attack is made up of two frontline spinners, and two frontline quicks in Dushmantha Chameera and Asitha Fernando. Allrounder Milan Rathnayaka plays his second ODI.
This is the first ODI at Sabina Park since 2022.
Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis (capt, wk), Pavan Rathnayake, Charith Asalanka, Janith Liyanage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Milan Rathnayake, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando
West Indies XI: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (capt.)(wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales
Qualifier Maja Chwalinska continued her dream French Open run as she beat Anna Kalinskaya to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.
The world number 114 was left open-mouthed with shock after completing a superb 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over 22nd seed Kalinskaya on a blustery Paris day.
Poland’s Chwalinska is the second qualifier after Nadia Podoroska in 2020 to reach the singles semi-finals at Roland Garros.
She is only the sixth qualifier in the Open era to reach the women’s singles semi-finals at a Grand Slam.
Only one – Britain’s Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open – went on to win the title.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka could await Chwalinska the last four, with the Belarusian taking on Russian Diana Shnaider later on Wednesday.
“I honestly don’t know what is going on,” Chwalinska told the crowd.
“I know I repeat myself, but every match here is kind of crazy for me.”
It is a remarkable run for Chwalinska, who arrived at the tournament with just two victories in WTA Tour-level main-draw matches under her belt.
Her sole Grand Slam match win came at Wimbledon in 2022 – but Chwalinska now finds herself on an eight-match winning streak on the Parisian clay, having dropped just one set on the way.
Everything appears to have clicked in place for a player who once feared she might have left the sport for good.
Chwalinska struggled with depression for two years and took an indefinite break from tennis after losing in the first round of qualifying at Wimbledon in 2021.
She did not know whether she would return at that point, having lost her enjoyment of training and competing.
With the support of the people around her, the openness of fellow players such as Naomi Osaka in speaking about their mental health, and brief attempts to enjoy other sports, Chwalinska found herself gradually gravitating back to the tennis court.
It has all led her to this moment of a first major semi-final – and a potential David-versus-Goliath showdown with title favourite Sabalenka.
In Paris, Chwalinska has played with infectious freedom and joyful creativity, beating two seeded players and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen along the way.
She kept her composure well against Kalinskaya, first having to reset after letting a 5-1 lead slip in the opener, before reeling off five straight points from 3-2 down in the resulting tie-break to take the lead.
She then held her nerve in the second, recovering from being broken as she tried to serve out victory before clinching her first match point on Kalinskaya’s serve.
“I was definitely nervous. I am stressed, of course, but I try to focus on my job and my games,” Chwalinska said.
“I am not focusing on confidence. I am playing against the best players in the world, so I will not compare myself to them.”
Whatever happens in the semi-finals, Chwalinska is now projected to leap up the rankings and into the world’s top 30.
By reaching the semi-finals, she has also secured prize money amounting to £647,700 – more than doubling her career total earnings of £642,400 in the space of 10 days.
[BBC Sport]
Marta Kostyuk accused Russian players of hiding behind silence over the war in Ukraine, saying after four years of conflict they had shown “whose side they are on”, as she reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open.
The 23-year-old beat fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-3 2-6 6-2 in an emotional quarterfinal on Tuesday, played hours after another night of Russian strikes on Kyiv, then launched a scathing attack on Russian players who continue to avoid publicly condemning the war.
Kostyuk, who will next face Russian Mirra Andreeva, said she no longer accepts the argument that Russian athletes could remain silent because of possible repercussions at home.
“There is a way if you don’t agree,” Kostyuk told reporters. “I know some people who have left Russia the moment the war began, who sold all their business, who left everything behind because they just don’t agree with what their country is doing to other people.”
She cited fellow player Daria Kasatkina, who switched her allegiance from Russia to Australia last year, as an example of someone who had publicly spoken out despite pressure on her family.
“I don’t think she lives in Russia anyways, but the majority of players don’t live in Russia,” Kostyuk said. “There is nothing that’s stopping you if this is something you don’t believe in.
“After four years, I think they’ve made it very clear whose side they are on.”
Kostyuk’s comments came after she was asked about remarks from Russian players, including Diana Shnaider and Andreeva, who have previously said they focus only on the tennis ball and avoid political discussion.
“They are all grown-ups. They know what they’re talking about. They know what’s going on. They have phones. They have Instagram. They have news,” Kostyuk said.
“I wish there was some more clear stance on what’s going on, especially when your country is killing other people.”
Earlier, the Ukrainian dedicated her victory to “the Ukrainian people” after revealing she had woken up to news of another deadly night of bombings before checking on her family’s safety.
Kostyuk said representing Ukraine had become more important than the results themselves.
“With everything that’s happening, for me being here is a real blessing, and I don’t think about winning,” she said. “I’m here to represent Ukraine and to enjoy.”
[Aljazeera]
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