Rumini ends Indonesia's athletics drought<\/p>\n
By Dwiatmanto<\/p>\n
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (JP): Rumini Sudragni stole the thunder
\nyesterday in the women's 10,000-meter to give Indonesia its first
\ntrack and field gold at the 18th Southeast Asian Games.<\/p>\n
A barefoot Rumini clocked a new meet record of 35 minutes and
\n21.43 seconds to shave 7.4 seconds off the four-year-old mark set
\nby Mar Mar Min of Myanmar in Kuala Lumpur. Not only did
\nheptathlon specialist Rumini beat the record, she also stunned
\nher heavyweight compatriot Tri Asih Handayani.<\/p>\n
Handayani, the Asian Championships double silver medalist in
\n5,000 and 10,000, finished seventh with a lackluster time of
\n40:09.31.<\/p>\n
Handayani also flopped in her ambitious 1,500 effort, which
\nshe ran shortly before the 10,000-meter event. She came in
\nfourth, almost 10 seconds behind triumphant Khin Khin Thwe of
\nMyanmar.<\/p>\n
The second day of track and field competition was more
\nbalanced than Sunday's edition, with Indonesia, Singapore,
\nMalaysia, the Philippines and host Thailand sharing the pride.<\/p>\n
A total of three meet records were broken yesterday, bringing
\nthe total number of SEA Games records to six.<\/p>\n
Singapore's Wong Tuck Yim and Noohan Rajo joined Rumini on the
\nrecord breaker's list. Wong improved his two-year-old discus
\nthrow mark by 0.86 meters, while Rajo clocked 43:34.01 in the
\n10,000m walk to shave one minute 24.38 seconds off the old record
\nset by predecessor Karunanithi in 1991.<\/p>\n
Rumini, whose running skills were nurtured in her hilly
\nhometown of Salatiga, Central Java, about 500 kilometers east of
\nJakarta, quickly pulled ahead. She burst almost half a lap ahead
\nof closest rival Pa Pa of Myanmar before crossing the finish
\nline.<\/p>\n
Pa Pa clocked 35:57.43 for the silver, with Yvonne Tan Danson
\nthird at 36:27.39.<\/p>\n
\"I just remember what my father asked me before I left
\nIndonesia for the Games. He urged me to run as fast as I could,\"
\nRumini said in a post-match press conference.<\/p>\n
When asked about her teammate Handayani, Rumini said the
\nAsian Championships runner-up remains the best runner in middle-
\ndistance races. \"My friend was too tired after running in the
\n1,500m. That's why she lost,\" Rumini said.<\/p>\n
Winning streak<\/p>\n
Thailand, meanwhile, continued its gold medal winning streak
\nto keep on top of the medal race. Suthon Chartwadee gave the host
\nteam the first gold of the day when she threw 50.02 meters in the
\njavelin event, with Sukhon Piromkloy second with 49.80 meters.
\nTaty Ratnaingsih of Indonesia won the silver medal with a 47.26-
\nmeter heave.<\/p>\n
In the afternoon session, Thailand repeated a one-two showing
\nas Reanchai Seehawong and Aktawat Sakulchan finished first and
\nsecond respectively in men's 200m.<\/p>\n
Aktawat is now eying the 100m title after his comfortable
\ntime of 20.96 yesterday. \"With Mardi Lestari of Indonesia missing
\nfrom the 100m list, my chance is almost 100 percent,\" Aktawat
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Thais benefited from a leg injury which hit Malaysian
\nfavorite Watson Nyambek. They won their respective heats and kept
\ntheir explosive stride in the final. Another Malaysian, Ibrahim
\nAzmi, finished third for the bronze.<\/p>\n
In the women's 200m, Elma Muros of the Philippines
\nsuccessfully filled the shoes of Lydia de Vega. Muros won her
\nsecond gold of the meet in 24.00, quite slower than compatriot de
\nVega's two-year-old mark.<\/p>\n
\"It's a satisfying outcome, considering that it was my first
\nappearance in 200m,\" said Muros, who defended her long jump title
\non Sunday.<\/p>\n
\"My goal was to win one gold medal and now I have two,\" said a
\nbeaming Muros, who Sunday took the long jump, her speciality.<\/p>\n
She added that she had been confident of victory in the 200-
\nmeters from the start and never felt pushed during the race.<\/p>\n
Morgan Rajoo of Malaysia finished the men's 10,000-meter walk
\nin 43:34.01, shaving more than a minute off the old record of
\n45:19.01. Myint Htay of Burma also beat that time, winning the
\nsilver in 43:42.24, as did Saravanan Govindasamy of Malaysia, who
\ntook the bronze in 43:46.01.<\/p>",
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