Indonesia makes a splash in swimming

By Sylvia Gratia Miranda and I. Christianto

JAKARTA (JP): Coming off a lackluster Sunday, Indonesia exceeded its wildest expectations in the pool by taking four of the six golds available yesterday.

Richard Sam Bera won the 100 meters men's freestyle in 51.84, outside the Games record of 51.31 set by compatriot Wisnu Wardana in the 1993 meet in Singapore.

Richard was followed by Raymond Papa of the Philippines (52.07) and Malaysia's Ong Allen (52.76).

Even though he did not meet his goal of breaking the record, Richard said the win was special due to the overwhelming crowd support.

"It was really great that all the spectators supported me, it made me want to win very much," he said.

Richard, who recently earned his degree in business economics in the U.S., said his third participation in the Games may be his last.

"I'm considering retiring, but I haven't decided anything yet. I want to settle down and get a good job.

He was confident of doing well in the 50 meters freestyle and 4x100 team relay. "We'll have to wait and see what happens, " he added.

Relatively unknown Rita Mariani snatched Indonesia's second gold in the women's 100 meters breaststroke in 1:11.96. Second was Kathy Echiverri (1:13.91) of the Philippines, followed by Singaporean teen star Joscelin Yeo (1:14.67).

Yeo, winner of two gold medals on Sunday, had no answer to Rita's powerful, precise strokes.

The Indonesian said she had wanted to win the race to make several points to those who had lost faith in Indonesian swimmers.

"I wanted to show that Indonesia is still a force in the pool, and also that Joscelin was not unbeatable."

Her coach Lukman Niode said Rita's win was an unexpected but well-earned surprise. "I'm not just saying this because she is my girl, but because she is smart and she's a good swimmer."

Lukman said he planned to send Rita to the U.S. for intensive training.

Another surprise was in store when Felix C. Sutanto stole gold in the men's 200 meters individual medley. He finished in 2:06.14, a hair's breadth ahead of Thailand's Pathunyu Yimsomruay (2:06.76), and Malaysia's Azlan Wan in third (2:07.80).

Thailand's Ratapong Sirisanont, holder of the event record for the Asian Games and SEA Games, was a shock last-place finisher.

"I had greeted Sirisanont before the race, but he looked despondent and did not even acknowledge me," Felix said. "I think he had lost the race even before it started."

Malaysia grabbed its first gold from the pool in the men's 100 meters breastroke. Chia Elvin touched in at 1:04.48 , beating the hapless Sirisanont (1:04.95) and Singapore's Kenneth Goh (1:05.12).

Thailand, which dominated swimming on the first day, suffered a reversal of fortune yesterday.

The only gold yesterday for the Thai contingent came from Ravee Intporn-Udom in the women's 400 meters freestyle. Finishing in 4:20.95, she was meters ahead of teammate Rutai Santadvatana (4:26.96) and Singapore's Christel Bouvron (4:27.47).

She also broke the old Games record of 4:21.98, set by Nurul Huda of Malaysia in the 1989 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.