Sri Lanka Air Force runner Ruvina Deepani stunned her dominant opponents as she finished first in the South Asian Region which also include Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines , Brunei and Malaysia in the second leg of the Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth (GROE) marathon series here in Singapore yesterday. Finishing the grueling race under high humid conditions to a time of three hours six minutes and 53 seconds, the girl from Induruwa beat the athletes of Indonesian and Thailand teams, who led the first leg of the relay in Nairobi by considerable margins.

Although she ran below her personal best, Ruwina’s performance helped the Sri Lankan women’s team advance from the third place to the second place in the relay event which will have its remaining two legs within the next two months. Her performance has eased the burden on the other two athletes running in the Mumbai and Hong Kong legs to try and retain the regional championship they won last year.

However, Ruwina’s determined run seemed to have exhausted her to the full as she collapsed just after crossing the finish line. She was rushed to the medical tent and first aid was administered on her.

Meanwhile, her male counterpart, Jeevakumaran Sivaperumal, representing the country’s GROE men’s team fought against a severe chest ache and dehydration to finish fifth in the South Asian region before crashing to the ground at the end of the run.

He was immediately admitted to the Emergency Care Unit at the Alexander Private Hospital, which is a 20 minute drive from Padang, the finishing point of the race.

It is learnt that he had stopped twice after the 15 kilometer point and had been advised by the medical officers stationed at different points not to continue the race.

Jeevakumaran’s determined run against Medical advice, has placed the country’s men’s team third in the South Asian region of the GROE marathon series.

Jeevakumaran, from Sri Lanka Army, clocked two hours and 54.48 seconds to finish the event. The athlete risking his life ran to conclude the second leg and helped his team remain in contention for a place in the South Asian region. The Indian team is leading the men’s series in the South Asian region with Thailand placed second.

Meanwhile the Kenyan team won the overall men’s and women’s races of the GROE second leg comprehensively. The official results of the GROE marathon was not available at the point of writing.