Track and field still dearth of new records<\/p>\n
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Despite cash bonuses being promised at the National Track and
\nField Championships, athletes failed to rise to the challenge as
\nno new national records were bettered on the second day of the
\ncompetition at the Madya stadium here on Sunday.<\/p>\n
After a lackluster opening day, seven events were on the
\nroster on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen Purba won the gold medal in the men's 110 meter
\nhurdles for North Sumatra, but his 14.68 seconds was outside the
\n14.29 second record set by Heru Prayogo in 1987.<\/p>\n
In the shot put event the disparity between past and current
\nachievements was evident, as champion Tati Ratna Ningsih from
\nNangroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), failed to break her national
\nrecord of 51.76 meters, recording just 41.44 meters.<\/p>\n
Seven contingents evenly shared the honor. However, it was the
\nCentral Java team that leads the tournament with two gold medals.<\/p>\n
After Kanan won the opening gold in the men's shot put on
\nSaturday, Trianingsih doubled the collection on Sunday after she
\ntriumphed in the women's 10,000 meters with a time of 37 minutes,
\n14.44 seconds. The national best is 32 minutes and 52.45 seconds.<\/p>\n
Ong Kok Hin threw the hammer 48.76 meters to win the men's
\nhammer throw for South Sumatra. Other contingents from the
\nSumatra joining the victories included Bengkulu, through Desi
\nYunita in the Women's high jump, and Bangka Belitung, courtesy of
\nSuryo Agung in the men's 100 meters.<\/p>\n
Dedeh Irawati earned Jakarta a gold medal in the women's 100
\nmeter hurdles and Deysie Sumigar for North Sulawesi in the
\nwomen's 100 meters.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Amateur Athletics Association (PASI) is
\noffering a reward of Rp 10 million (US$1219) in cash bonuses for
\nathletes who are able to set new national records at the
\nchampionships.<\/p>\n
PASI secretary general Tigor Tanjung attributed the lack of
\nrecord setting largely on the recent monetary crisis.<\/p>\n
\"Since the economic crisis hit the country in 1998, our sports
\nhas been generally suffering, resulting, particularly in track
\nand field, in the lack of high-performance achievements,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Although new records have yet to come, Tigor was optimistic
\nthat new talents would emerge as PASI was concentrating more on
\nbringing the sports back at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n
\"Suryo Agung, who won the 100-meter sprint event on Sunday,
\nhas been groomed by PASI since he was very young. He is a good
\nprospect for the future.\"<\/p>\n
The track and field meet, which will run until Tuesday, serves
\nas the qualifying field for the 2004 National Games and provides
\nopportunities for the athletes to win slots on the national team
\nfor the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam in December.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/track-and-field-still-dearth-of-new-records-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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