Asiad hopeful fares below par at national event
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.