Dubai: The winner of the women’s Open road run is hopeful of an Olympic medal when she represents her native Finland at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games in August.
Finland Anne Mari Hyrylainen paced herself to perfection to win the 10km race in a time of 35 minutes and 50 mins leaving Belainesh Yami Gurmu of Ethiopia a far second with a time of 37.44 minutes, while French girl Latifa Essarokh was third with 38.24 minutes.
Living in Dubai for the past eight years, it was only a couple of years back that Hyrylainen took the decision of turning professional. And after a few months, the lanky Finn had achieved the Olympic qualifying mark and earned the right to represent her country in Rio this summer.
Hyrylainen sees the benefits of being based in a place like Dubai. “The summer is too hot here, so I go to Europe for my training schedule. But there cannot be a better place than Dubai during winter. This is the best destination for runners,” Hyrylainen told Gulf News.
An added advantage is that her Finnish coach lives in Kenya. “I am constantly in contact with my coach and whenever I can I travel to Kenya for my high altitude training. That way I have the best of both worlds by being based in Dubai,” she remarked.
Due to her being based in Dubai, Hyrylainen considers herself a definite medal prospect in the marathon race at the Rio Games. “The heat is one aspect of my training as I am now used to the conditions here that are harsher than conditions in Rio in August. I am looking at this as an advantage that is bound to benefit me when I run in Rio,” she said.
“In addition, this year I have been running my personal best times and I have this inner feeling that I am at my best for a crack at an Olympic medal,” she said.
