Juniors race on World Athletics Day

JAKARTA (JP): More than 400 school students from 23 of the country's provinces will celebrate World Athletics Day with a four-day junior championships, due to start tomorrow.

Committee chairman Gurmilang Kartasasmita of the Indonesian Track and Field Association said yesterday that the competition will serve as one of the opportunities for juniors to display their talents.

"We are concerned about motivating the students to do well. Early grooming is vital in the sport before athletes go to international-level competitions," Gurmilang said.

The International Amateur Athletics Federation has ordered all member countries to adopt their own National Athletics Day as the occasion to mark the world-wide campaign to develop track and field.

All of the 411 participants at the national junior meet are aged under 19 and 152 of them are junior high school students. A total of 75 gold medals are up for grabs in both the boys' and girl' events.

Riau, East Kalimantan, Southeast Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi will be the absent provinces.

Four out of five Indonesian junior athletes who won gold medals in the Philippines Open last week have confirmed their participation here. They are Irene Joseph, the girls' 100m and 200m champion, girls' long jumper Nyoman Rai, boys' 400m runner Novian Suhendra and pole vaulter Nunung Jayadi.

Gurmilang said that the four-day competition will also serve as a talent spotting ground for the Southeast Asian Student Championships here on June 15 and the World Junior Championships scheduled for Sydney in August. (amd)