Pole-vault champion Nunung aims to soar to new heights<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (JP): Indonesia's Nunung Jayadi may be the
\nnew record holder for the pole vault in the Southeast Asian
\nGames, but he came up short of earning a place in the 2002 Asian
\nGames.<\/p>\n
He will have to clear 5.10 meters, five centimeters above the
\nmark he set on Wednesday, to make it to Asia's most prestigious
\nsporting event.<\/p>\n
Nunung, 21, is confident he can meet the challenge.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure I can make it because I cleared 5.25 meters in
\npractice recently. Before competing in the Games, I still managed
\nto jump more than 5 meters although I was in a very bad mood,\"
\nsaid Nunung, who won the lone gold for his team on Wednesday, the
\nlast day of track and field.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rookie improved by 15 centimeters the record
\nset by Edward Lasquette of the Philippines in the 1995 Games in
\nChiang Mai, Thailand.<\/p>\n
Nunung failed to clear 5.25m after his record-breaking leap,
\nand said his legs were sore from practice on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Born in Jakarta on June 5, 1978, Nunung was a member of a
\nsoccer club when a track and field coach from the Ragunan
\nAthletes School asked him and five other athletes to train for
\nthe pole vault in 1993.<\/p>\n
Only Nunung and Yongky Permana have continued as pole-
\nvaulters.<\/p>\n
Nunung has withstood some hard knocks to improve his skills.
\nHe never misses training at the national training center and won
\nhis first international title at the Malaysia Open in 1994. He
\nalso won the gold in the ASEAN School Championships in the same
\nyear.<\/p>\n
An injury sustained during training cost him the chance to
\ntake part in the Asian Junior Championships in 1995. He hurt
\nhimself after letting his pole slip during take-off and he missed
\nthe mat on landing. He suffered a severe injury to his ankle and
\nhe cut his arm on the pole. Recuperation took a month.<\/p>\n
A few months later, he squandered an opportunity to compete in
\nthe 1995 SEA Games after eating food prepared by a street vendor
\nand contracting typhoid.<\/p>\n
Nunung, the seventh son of 10 of Madali and Madsani, said it
\nserved as a hard lesson in the importance of discipline.<\/p>\n
\"An athlete must be disciplined because it is the most
\npowerful force to reach our goal,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Nunung is known for being unable to perform well when
\nirritated or upset. His girlfriend, sprinter and hurdler Dedeh
\nErawati, acknowledged his mercurial moods.<\/p>\n
\"He's easily upset by small things and I can only talk to him
\nto try to get him to change his behavior.\"<\/p>\n
They started dating after the 1997 SEA Games in Jakarta but
\nsaid they do not have firm marriage plans.<\/p>\n
Nunung, a recent graduate of the Ragunan school, wants to
\ncontinue his studies at an institute of economics in Rawamangun,
\nEast Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"It is because I want to be near Dedeh, who also studies
\nthere,\" Nunung said. (yan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pole-vault-champion-nunung-aims-to-soar-to-new-heights-1447893297",
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