Indonesia to test swimmers at Asia C'ships before Olympics

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Swimming Federation (PRSI) will send its swimmers to the Asia Championships in Pusan, South Korea, in March before they take part in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney in September.

The federation's deputy in charge of athletic development Kristiono Sumono said on Tuesday that it would not send swimmers to the Olympics if they failed to fulfill the targets set for them in the championships.

"We expect them to finish fifth in all individual events and third in all team events at the championships," he said.

The federation plans to send male swimmers Richard Sam Bera, Wisnu Wardhana, Albert and Felix Christiadi Sutanto, Akbar Nasution, Steven Chandra and females Elsa Manora Nasution and Siripiya Sutanto.

So far, only Richard (50 and 100 meter freestyle), Wisnu (50m freestyle), Albert (100 and 200m butterfly stroke and 400m individual medley), Akbar (200m breaststroke) and Elsa (100m backstroke) have qualified for the Olympics B qualification based on their best times in the 1999 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei Darussalam in August.

"In Asia, Indonesia must be able to compete against China, Japan and the ex Soviet countries. By being in the top five in Asia we can join the elite of the continent. It will be very difficult for us to compete against the strongest countries in the world," Kristiono said.

He hoped that the country's 4x100m freestyle relay team could qualify for the Olympics, which means that Felix could join the Olympics team.

Kristiono, a former national swimmer, said based on the SEA Games best times, he hoped Albert would be able to reach the top 16 in the Olympics in the 400m individual medley, while other swimmers could hope to finish in the top 30s.

"If the 4x100m freestyle relay team can compete in the Olympics, I believe they have a great chance to reach the world's top 10. Unfortunately, up to today the team has yet to qualify," he said.

However, Kristiono warned that if the swimmers performed poorly the federation would cancel its plan to send them to the Olympics.

As a warm up to the championships, the federation will send the swimmers to the Grand Prix Final in Hong Kong on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9.

Previously, the federation planned to send swimmers to two competitions in Hobart and Sydney, Australia, but it canceled the plan and sent them to Hong Kong instead.

The federation also canceled its plan to stage a three-week training course in Bali with an Australian coach, due to the "worsening relationship between Indonesia and Australia over East Timor," Kristiono said.

The federation's executive director Myrna Sukasah said some people have been nominated to replace chairman Rahardi Ramelan in the national congress early next month.

The candidates are Minister of Mines and Energy Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudoyono, Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief Admiral Widodo Adisutjipto and Minister of Industry and Trade Jusuf Kalla. Other candidates are Hendroprijono, chairman of the Indonesian Judo Association, and Sudomo, chairman of the Indonesian Golf Association. (yan)