East Java still on top of PON medal tally
By Ivy Susanti
SURABAYA (JP): There were no records broken in the swimming pool at the 15th National Games (PON) here on Friday, with experienced swimmers and Olympic hopefuls taking most of the medals on offer.
In the overall standings, the Games 1999 overall champion, Jakarta, leapfrogged West Java into second place with 29 golds, 30 silvers and 34 bronzes. Host East Java is still at the top of the medal tally, with a tally of 53 golds, 31 silvers and 32 bronzes.
West Java is third, having clocked up 26 golds, 21 silvers and 31 bronzes.
Jakarta dominated the swimming pool on Friday, winning three golds, three silvers and two bronzes.
Veteran Richard Sam Bera won a gold for Jakarta in the men's 100m freestyle event, clocking 52.09, far from both the national record and his personal best of 51.03, which he recorded in the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam.
Teammate Wisnu Wardhana took silver with 54.10 and Armand Panji of Lampung finished third with 54.80.
M. Akbar Nasution added one more gold for Jakarta in the 100m men's 100m breaststroke, clocking 1:06.17. Audi Oktavian and Denny Kurniawan took the silver and bronze medals respectively for Central Java. Audi clocked 1:07.29 and Denny 1:09.14.
Twin brothers Felix Christiadi and Albert Christiadi Sutanto earned gold and silver respectively in the 200m men's relay event. Felix finished first in 2:09.08, while Albert trailed him with 2:11.58. Audi took the bronze with 2:12.25.
Richard, Wisnu, Akbar, Felix and Albert are being groomed for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney in September.
Senior women swimmers like Rita Mariani (East Java) and Meitri Widya Pangestika (Central Java) proved that they were still top performers.
Meitri won gold in the 400m freestyle, clocking 4:30.70. Siripiya Sutanto of Jakarta finished second with 4:34.78 and Ati Yuliani of Central Java was third with 4:36.75.
Rita won the 100m breaststroke in 1:12.94, followed by Dyah Ayu Rahmani, also from East Java, in 1:15.46. Yohana Prayogo contributed a bronze for Jakarta, clocking 1:17.86.
Separately, deputy chief of the Jakarta contingent, Sutardiono, said he was confident that Jakarta would take over the overall top spot from East Java.
"I'm sure we can finish top in the next two days. Jakarta's medal tally is only narrowly behind East Java's," he said.
Medal Tally (as of 9:07 p.m.)Provinces G S B
East Java 53 31 32 Jakarta 29 30 34 West Java 26 21 31 Central Java 11 16 19 Lampung 11 13 13 North Sumatra 6 5 9 Jambi 6 4 7 South Sulawesi 5 10 9 East Kalimantan 4 4 4 Papua 4 2 4 South Kalimantan 4 2 2 Riau 3 8 3 North Sulawesi 3 5 8 West Kalimantan 3 4 1 Bali 3 2 1 South Sumatra 2 6 8 Yogyakarta 2 3 9 Southeast Sulawesi 2 1 3 Central Kalimantan - 5 4 Maluku - 1 2 Bengkulu - 1 - West Sumatra - 1 - Aceh - - 5 East Nusa Tenggara - - 2 Central Sulawesi - - 1 West Nusa Tenggara - - 1