Marathon golds fail to stop Thais<\/p>\n
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (JP): Two record-breaking runs by
\nIndonesian marathon runners were not enough to spoil Thailand's
\ngold sweep on the fourth day of the Southeast Asian Games
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
By late afternoon, Indonesia had added nine more golds to
\nbring its total tally to 33. Thailand swept golds on almost all
\nfronts, raising its tally to 80 from 55 at the start of the day.<\/p>\n
Gone was the Indonesian official slogan Kita Harus Menang
\n(We've Got To Win) so often heard in Indonesia in the two months
\nprior the Games.<\/p>\n
Indonesian athletes continued their fight, but now with a
\ndifferent objective of making a respectable second position,
\nsalvaging golds here and there against the formidable Thai gold-
\nmaking machine.<\/p>\n
At least the morning began brightly for Indonesia, with both
\ngolds in the marathons and new Games' records in the process.<\/p>\n
Ruwiyati, an 18-year old high school student from Salatiga,
\nCentral Java, ripped 11.14 seconds off the meet's record, helped
\nby the early-morning, 13-degree-Celsius temperature of nearby
\nLamphun province and the blistering pace she shared with favored
\nBritish-Singaporean runner Yvonne Danson.<\/p>\n
She completed the course in 2 hours 34mins 29secs, shattering
\nthe 1989 record set by her compatriot Suryati.<\/p>\n
\"We knew long beforehand that she would be running against
\nthis girl from England,\" said Ruwiyati's coach Peter Noya,
\nexplaining that she had trained at a high altitude in her
\nhometown Salatiga.<\/p>\n
Suyono, from East Kalimantan, completed the Indonesian double
\nby winning the men's event in 2:21.02. He too rewrote the Games
\nmark. His 2:21.09 run improved by 1.43mins the 1991 record of
\nFilipino runner Herman Suizo, who did not finish this time.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the marathoners failed to lift the fighting
\nspirit of their fellow Indonesians as most continued to play
\nsecond, or even third fiddles to the host athletes.<\/p>\n
The few other golds that added to Indonesia's tally were
\ncontributed, among others, by Oka Gusti Sulaksana in
\nwindsurfing's Mistral heavyweight and Edi Musiyamtoro in the
\nmen's tae kwon do lightweight category.<\/p>\n
In the swimming pool, Indonesia managed only one gold from the
\nmen's 4-by-100-meter freestyle and in gymnastics, Jonathan
\nManggiring Sianturi won the men's ring category.<\/p>\n
Indonesia earned its fourth and fifth judo golds from men's
\nlightweight Yudie Sulistiyo and Wahid Yudi Sulistianto in the
\nmen's half-lightweight category.<\/p>\n
Host Thailand is also picking up gold in some of the more
\nprestigious sports.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, its three-man team high-kicked its way to victory
\n2-1 against rival Malaysia in sepak takraw, a regional game which
\nis like volleyball, but played with the feet and using rattan
\nball.<\/p>\n
The cheering crowd, banging drums and waving flags helped
\ninspire the Thai side to overwhelm the Malaysians, who had hoped
\nto win the hotly-contested competition.<\/p>\n
Singapore's Joscelyn Yeo and Thailand's Rattapong Srisanont,
\nwho have both been swimming their way to victory and new records
\nover the past few days, continued their golden streaks.<\/p>\n
Yeo improved her 100m freestyle record by nearly half a
\nsecond, winning gold in 57.19 seconds.<\/p>\n
Rattapong, who has become a cult hero to fans packing the
\nstands, shaved more than two seconds off his old 200m individual
\nmedley record to set a new one of two minutes, 4.74 seconds.<\/p>\n
Thai marksmen and women continued to mine gold, winning the
\nmen's free pistol tea and individual events, and the men's air
\nrifle team and individual events. (amd)<\/p>\n
More stories on Page 10<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/marathon-golds-fail-to-stop-thais-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }