Men's sprinters vague of SEAG target<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's men's sprinters doubt their chances
\nof winning medals at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala
\nLumpur in September, following their poor performances in the
\nlocal championships here.<\/p>\n
The sprinters, however, were adamant of being able to improve
\non their best times in the one month remaining before the event.
\nThe Indonesian Amateur Athletics Association (PASI) has also
\nshied away from targeting gold in the men's 100m and 200m events.<\/p>\n
\"We are not too hopeful in the sprints as I only expect the
\nsprinters to perform well in the relay. We aim to take a medal,\"
\nthe men's sprint coach, Effendi, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
PASI has selected Sukari and Erwin Heru Santoso as the core
\nteam and will decide later whether or not to include Rika
\nFardani. Sukari, Erwin, Subakir and M. Rusli will compete in the
\n4x100m relay.<\/p>\n
\"I am still training hard to improve on my best time. I'm very
\noptimistic of finishing second or third in the relay,\" Sukari
\nsaid after training.<\/p>\n
Sukari clocked 10.70 seconds in the second leg of the national
\nGrand Prix series on July 15 here, followed by Rika and Erwin,
\nwho both came in at 10.71.<\/p>\n
The times fell far short of the benchmark time limit 'B' of
\n10.65 set by PASI for 100m sprinters to be eligible for the SEA
\nGames. The limit 'A' is 10.50, which is considered necessary for
\ncore team members. There are no time standards for the 4x100
\nrelay event.<\/p>\n
\"We can't judge our performance from the results in one event.
\nI see that my form has been improving since the National
\nChampionships in February until the Grand Prix. I think I can
\nreach the time standard 'B' in more than one month,\" Erwin said.<\/p>\n
In the 1999 SEA Games in Brunei Darussalam, John Murray
\nmanaged to take a silver in the 200m. He also won silver in the
\n4x100m relay along with Subakir, Sukari and Mahmud Hamzah. The
\nquartet also qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.<\/p>\n
John returned to his hometown in Irian Jaya before the first
\ntrack and field national Grand Prix here on July 1 and has not
\nshown up at the training center since.<\/p>\n
Another athlete forming the backbone of Indonesia's team,
\nYanes Raubaba, quit the training center and returned home to
\nBiak, Irian Jaya, following his failure to perform well at the
\n2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Coach Pieter Noya said he had earlier warned PASI that it must
\nnot send men's sprinters to the SEA Games.<\/p>\n
\"Where will the medal come from?\" he said.<\/p>\n
Pieter said the men's sprinters did not improve much in the
\nlocal championships here as some of them had passed their prime.<\/p>\n
At the 2000 National Games (PON) in East Java, Yanes set a new
\nnational record of 10.13, followed by Erwin in 10.16 and John in
\n10.23. Yanes broke the national record of 10.20 set by Mardi
\nLestari at the 1989 PON. The three sprinters qualified for the
\nOlympics.<\/p>\n
\"Shortly after the PON, the men's sprinters vanished. There
\nare no sprinters who can break through the 10.30 or 10.20 time
\nbarrier. The younger sprinters can only run up to 10.70 or 10.80.
\nBut they can run faster and it takes time before they can run
\nbelow 10.50,\" Pieter said. (ivy)<\/p>",
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