Indonesia's Olympic training missed the target

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesia Amateur Athletics Federation (PASI) will arrange a comprehensive training program to help its athletes excel in the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur.

PASI secretary-general Tigor M. Tanjung said here on Tuesday the program would include improvements to the periodical training which would determine the correct time for an athlete to reach his or her peak form.

"The new program will prevent the same mistakes which caused our sprinters to run out of steam in the Olympics, where they should have reached their top form," Tigor said.

Around 50 athletes selected during the 2000 National Games (PON) in East Java last June and the Asian Track and Field Championships here in August are now being groomed for the regional sporting event.

"We are disappointed with our runners' performances in the Olympics. A review of technical and nontechnical matters in the training program is expected to prevent the same mistake when we enter the SEA Games," Tigor said.

He said he noticed some of the sprinters prematurely peaked at PON because they were chasing after numerous incentives, including cash bonuses offered by their respective provinces.

Indonesia sent women's sprinter Irene Truitje Joseph and men's sprinters Yanes Raubaba, Erwin Heru Susanto and John Murray to Sydney. All of them failed to qualify for the second round of their events, each finishing sixth in their respective heats.

Irene, whose best time in the 100m is 11.56 seconds, clocked a time of 11.93 in her heat.

Yanes was timed at 10.54, far slower than the national record of 10.13 he set at PON and the winning time in his heat of 10.04 clocked by Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago.

Erwin, who clocked a personal best of 10.16 at PON, finished sixth in his heat with a 10.87. Wiliams Christopher of Jamaica won the heat with a 10.35.

John Murray did not fare much better, clocking a 10.68 to finish 45 hundredth of a second off his personal best. Eventual gold medalist Maurice Greene won the heat in one of his slowest runs of 10.31 seconds.

Tigor also said the runners were mentally unprepared for a big event like the Olympics.

He said all of the sprinters would continue their preparations for the SEA Games upon their arrival from Sydney on Oct. 2. (ivy)