With a string of good performances, Shwetha Seetaram of Shimoga has been making rapid strides on the road- race scene in the State. In the Deccan Athletic Club’s K A Nettakallappa memorial road races over the weekend, Shwetha lived up to her top billing and completed a well deserved hat-trick.

 The 10th standard student of Adi Chunchangiri Composite High School had won the 2.5km race for girls in both the Bangalore and Davangere legs last year and she is in line to make it four-in-a-row, when the second leg of this year’s road race will held in her hometown of Shimoga on June 17.

“It would be really nice if I can add another title, that too in my hometown,” said an elated Shwetha after the Bangalore race. Just a day earlier, Shwetha was part of the Karnataka quartet which finished second in the 4x400M relay in the Youth National championships.

The fact that she is the first in her family to venture into athletics gives more glitter to her achievements. “My father is into building business and my mother is a housewife. But they have always encouraged me ever since I showed interest in running at a young age. They want to see me growing from strength to strength.’’

Shwetha has no role models in her life except her parents Seetharam and Saroja. “They were the driving force behind me and I owe everything to them. My ultimate goal is to become a good athlete who can deliver consistently,” added Shwetha who considers her second place finish in the 800M event in the All India Rural Meet held in Assam last year as her best till date. “Of course, I do cherish my first place finishes here. So too the first place in the State junior meet held in Bangalore last year. But I value the performance in Assam last year more. The level of competition there was higher. I was competing with practically the best rural talent in the country.”
Shwetha’s coach H R Udaykumar, who has been training her for the past five years, is obviously a happy man with his ward’s hat-trick performance. “She has been really training hard and the rewards are there to see,” he said.

A fitness freak, Shwetha’s only regret was she couldn't improve on her timing. “I had finished the 2.5 km race in 9:02 last time. This time I took 30 seconds more. Perhaps, the heat could have been a factor. I hope to work on it in the Shimoga leg”.

Though Shwetha competes in the 400M and 800M regulary at the school level, she considers the 2.5 km to be her pet event. “I don’t get sufficient opportunities to run the 2.5 km event. But whenever, I get a chance to compete, I try to make maximum use out of it,” she said.