Asiad hopeful fares below par at national event

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

National hammer thrower Yurita Aryani, the country's only track and field hopeful for the 2002 Asian Games, put in a dismal performance at the National Athletics Championship here on Thursday, raising questions about her chances at the Asiad.

Though Yurita, throwing for the Jakarta team, won the gold medal with a toss of 50.43 meters at the Madya Stadium, the mark was still far below the national record of 53.67 meters she set at a local competition last month.

"I have to admit I'm not satisfied with my performance. But I'm not bothered because I already knew that I wasn't going to peak at this event," Yurita said.

Yurita also blamed her subpar throw on the wind, which she said was gusting directly into her during the throw.

The 21-year-old is currently the only hope the Indonesian Amateur Athletics Association (PASI) has for winning a medal at the Asian Games, which will take place in Busan, South Korea, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 14.

In an effort to improve her medal prospects, Yurita said she was training for a four-spin throw. Previously, she did three- spin throws, meaning she spun around three times before releasing the hammer.

But she still used the three-spin throw on Thursday.

"I could have tried a four-spin, but I was afraid of faulting. My footing isn't sure yet.

"With perfect footing a four-spin throw can go up to an extra six meters," she added.

In order to stay at home and work on her technique, Yurita said she would not take part in the Asian Championship in Sri Lanka next month.

"I probably would have ended up with a throw of between 52 and 53 meters there. I'd rather stay in Jakarta and train. I'm anxious to see my throwing improve significantly," she said.

The Malaysia Open in September will be her last competition before she leaves for Busan.

"Hopefully I can set a new record," she said, adding that she would have to throw at least 57 meters to stand a realistic chance of winning a medal in Busan.

On the track on Thursday, host team Jakarta ended the second day of the four-day competition with three of the 13 gold medals awarded so far. Defending champion Central Java and East Java have two golds each.

West Java, Papua, North Sumatra, North Sulawesi had to be content with one gold each.

The results of the women's 800 meter heptathlon were unavailable at press time.