Irene contributes more golds for riot-torn Maluku

By Ivy Susanti

SURABAYA (JP): Winning three gold medals at the 15th National Games (PON) does not only mean fame and riches for national women's sprinter Irene Truitje Joseph of Maluku but also a proof of her patriotism.

After a successful victory in the 200m dash on Tuesday, Irene, an Olympic Games qualifier, grabbed the last two golds in the 100m and 400m dash events on Wednesday at the Delta stadium in Sidoarjo, some 20 kilometers south of here.

Host East Java virtually ensured taking the overall champion's title after collecting 122 golds, 95 silvers and 103 bronzes. Defending champion Jakarta has only a slight chance to take the top position after winning only 104 golds, 73 silvers and 82 bronzes. While West Java remained in third place with 70 golds, 83 silvers and 92 bronzes.

Irene, the 1999 Southeast Asian gold medalist, clocked 11.73 seconds in the 100m event not only to grabbing the gold but also breaking the 15-year-old PON record of 11.76 set by Henny Maspaitella in the 1985 PON in Jakarta.

In the 400m event, Irene finished first in 56.54.

"I thank God as I managed to fulfill the target of winning three golds set by the Maluku administration. I hope Maluku, which is in trouble, can smile seeing my achievement. This is the best I can contribute to my home soil," she said.

Sih Hernawati of Central Java was second in the 100m dash, clocking 11.84 followed by Rabaiya of South Sulawesi with 12.15.

In the 400m event, Raquel Pireira of West Java clocked 57.64 to win silver and Yatin Saputro of Central Java finished third in 57.95.

When asked about the bonuses, Irene said: "I don't run for bonuses. I know what is happening in Ambon."

Speaking on her chances at the Olympics, Irene said: "I won't promise anything in the Olympics. I'm only 18 and still young. I want to gain experience for my career. Hopefully, I can be the best sprinter in Asia."

Women's long-distance runner Supriati Sutono of West Java earned two golds in less than one hour.

She clocked four minutes 26.66 in the 1,500m to beat the old PON record of 4:34.37 set by Supriyati of Jambi in 1996. Ester Sumah of East Java was second with the time of 4:30.17 while Oliva Sadi of East Nusa Tenggara finished third in 4:30.30.

Shortly after the event, Supriati ran in the 10 kms final and managed to finish first in 37 minutes 56.37. Triasih Handayani of Central Java won silver with the time of 38:03.72 and her teammate, Ruwiyati, was third after clocking 38:09.83.

However, Supriati's record was far from Olympic qualifying time. She said she would try another pre-qualifying event overseas as she was informed that the Asian Track and Field Championships, scheduled at the Senayan Madya stadium in Jakarta in August, will be delayed until after the Olympics.

In the men's 200m event, John Murray of Irian Jaya surpassed teammate Yanes Raubaba to claim the gold. John clocked 21.21 followed closely by Yanis with 21.25. Next was Erwin Heru Susanto of East Java who clocked 21.60.

From the tennis court, Angelique Wijaya contributed a gold to West Java, defeating Frederika Girsang of Jakarta 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the women's final on Wednesday. Mimma Chernovita and Romana Tedjakusuma, both from East Java, shared the bronze medal.

Women's doubles pair of Wukirasih Sawondari and Irawati Moerid Iskandar of Jakarta won by walk-over because Angelique had to fly to London to compete in the women's singles junior event at Wimbledon.

Angelique and her partner, Liza Andriyani, won silver while Lianasari and Agustina Wibisono of Bengkulu and Mimma and Natalia Sutrisno of East Java shared the bronze.

Medal Tally (as of 9:30 p.m.) Provinces Gold Silver Bronze East Java 122 95 103 Jakarta 104 73 82 West Java 70 83 92 Central Java 38 55 59 Lampung 20 22 25 Jambi 17 9 12 Papua 14 17 21 North Sumatra 12 10 16 East Kalimantan 12 8 16 South Sulawesi 11 12 18 Bali 10 10 14 South Kalimantan 10 8 8 North Sulawesi 9 13 17 Southeast Sulawesi 8 4 11 South Sumatra 7 14 15 Yogyakarta 6 12 22 Maluku 6 3 6 Riau 5 9 13 West Kalimantan 4 8 7 Central Kalimantan 3 10 17 East Nusa Tenggara 3 4 8 West Nusa Tenggara 2 3 2 Central Sulawesi 2 1 2 Bengkulu 1 3 4 Aceh 1 1 13 West Sumatra - 4 4 Total 497 491 607