Christine Merrill, a 2010 UC San Diego graduate with a degree mechanical engineering, will represent Sri Lanka in the 2012 Olympics in London next month.
UC San Diego Athletics Department reported that the Sri Lanka Athletics Association tabbed Merrill as the country’s female wild card entrant on Monday. UCSD said, “SLAA had sent her name for IAAF consideration after none of Sri Lanka’s female athletes had reached Olympic qualifying standards before the deadline closed on Sunday.”
Merrill, an American whose mother is from Sri Lanka, will compete in the 400-meter hurdles beginning August 3 at Olympic Stadium in London. She also represented Sri Lanka at the Asian Athletics Championships and the IAAF World Championships last summer. She claimed a bronze medal with a time of 57.30 at the Asian Championships and set a new Sri Lankan national record after clocking in at 56.83 in prelims, according to UCSD.
Locally, Merrill set school records in both the 400 hurdles (58.04) and 400-meter dash (54.76) as a senior. As a junior, she won the NCAA Division II title in the 400 hurdles after posting a first place time of 58.59 in San Angelo, Texas.
