Erni runs strong to win marathon gold for Indonesia<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Hanoi<\/p>\n
Erni Ulatningsih went into high gear in the last few meters on
\nFriday to win the women's marathon, while Allan Ballester of the
\nPhilippines crossed the men's tape. The 42.195-kilometer race
\nstarted and finished at My Dinh Stadium.<\/p>\n
Erni clocked 2:52.28, followed by Vietnam's Nguyen Thi Hoa at
\n2:53.53, and Indonesian Feri Marince Subnafeu came in third at
\n2:56.40. The Indonesian team wound up their track-and-field bout
\nwith an unexpected four golds.<\/p>\n
It was a tight race, particular at the mid-point between
\neventual champ Erni and Nguyen.<\/p>\n
\"We were leading jointly until after the 21km or 22km mark,
\nwhen the Vietnamese tried to leave us in the dust. I began to
\npick up my pace while trying to close the gap with her,\" Erni
\ntold reporters after the race.<\/p>\n
\"Entering the final 10km, I caught up with her, but it was not
\nuntil in the final kilometer that I could finally take over the
\nlead.\"<\/p>\n
With the final soccer match between Vietnam and Thailand to be
\nplayed later in the evening, hundreds of home fans had begun to
\nflock to the stadium before the marathon was over. They lined up
\nto the gate, waving flags in support of their athletes.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian team, which had been informed of Erni's almost
\ndefinite win, looked anxious inside the stadium. When the
\n23-year-old Indonesian appeared first at the gate, they broke
\ninto cries of joy, shouting \"Erni! Erni!\" to welcome the
\nchampion.<\/p>\n
\"I traveled such a long way from my parents back home. So I
\nwas determined I should win. I'm really happy,\" said Erni,
\necstatic with happiness.<\/p>\n
Although her time was below the Games' record, Erni had beat
\nher personal best of 2:55.<\/p>\n
Feri, who was the Indonesian favorite, had not fared well in
\nthe race because of a slight flu she had been battling for four
\ndays, but was able to join the victory celebration in the
\nIndonesian camp.<\/p>\n
\"I told her she'd better not run for fear of her condition
\nworsening. Even during the race, I told her she did not need to
\ncontinue if she felt unwell, but she insisted on running,\" team
\nmanager Tigor Tanjung said.<\/p>\n
In the men's marathon, I Gede Karangasem, who had suffered a
\ncramp in the final 10km, just missed claiming a medal for
\nIndonesia with a fourth-place finish.<\/p>\n
\"I was in the lead pack until the final 10km, when my thigh
\ncramped up. I was unable to keep up from that point on, and began
\ntrailing behind,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Ballester took the gold with a time of 2:21.03, followed 0.48
\nof a second behind by Nguyen Chi Dong of Vietnam and Boonchoo
\nJandacha bringing up third more than two seconds behind the
\nchampion.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's other runner, Noce Matital, finished in eighth
\nplace.<\/p>\n
The day's races brought Indonesia's track-and-field medal
\ntally to four golds, four silvers and seven bronzes. Despite
\nFriday's loss, Thailand still proved formidable with 13 golds,
\nfollowed by Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, with eight
\neach and Singapore with four.<\/p>\n
Tigor had feared the Indonesian delegation was not quite up to
\npar with the other competitors in terms of strength, but they
\nclaimed more golds than expected.<\/p>\n
\"We had been expecting only two. But we saw how the athletes
\nbattled hard on the track and on the field,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/erni-runs-strong-to-win-marathon-gold-for-indonesia-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}