Kondo equals record, Irene fails in sprint

JAKARTA (JP): Japan lived up to its status as one of the continent's athletics' powerhouses when it scooped two gold medals on the second day of the 13th Asian Track and Field Championships at the Senayan Madya Stadium on Tuesday.

India added one gold to remain on top of the medals' table. China, Qatar, Thailand and Kazakhstan also won a gold apiece.

With no Asian record shattered on Tuesday, Japanese Takayo Kondo saved the tournament's blushes by equaling the championships record in the women's pole vault.

Host Indonesia again wasted another chance to book a place for next month's Sydney Olympics as women's sprinter Irene Truitje Joseph ran below her best time in both the 200m and 100m races.

Kondo, whose personal best is 4.10 meters, declined opportunities to beat 4.05m, only to falter in all her three attempts at 4.10m. She settled for the meet equaling mark of 4.00 held by Peng Xiaoming of China.

Chang Ko-Hsin of China Taipei finished second with 3.90 while Japan's number one Masumi Ono came third with 3.80.

Japan earned its second gold after Wataru Ebihara threw 69.50m in the men's hammer. The result was far from the championships' record of 76.67m set by Andey Abdulvaliev of Tajikistan in the previous meet two years ago.

Wu Ping of China won the gold in the men's 20km walk with a time of 1:28:04. Hinorori Kawai of Japan trailed in second place with 1:29:13 followed by Lee Dae-ro of South Korea with 1:30:36.

Indonesians Kristian Tobing and Sutrisno finished fifth and eighth respectively.

Thailand grabbed its first gold at the championships thanks to men's triple jumper Nattapol Namkunha who leapt 16.53m.

Smetarin Maksim of Kyrgystan was second with 16.33 while Salem al Muwalled of Saudi Arabia was third with 16.24.

M. Junaedi and Sugeng Jatmiko of Indonesia only finished 14 and 15 at the event after jumping 14.85 and 14.78 respectively.

Indonesia's sole hope in the Sydney Games, Irene, had to bury her dream of winning a medal after failing to qualify in both 100 and 200m.

Irene, whose 200m best time is 23.86 seconds, only finished fifth in the heat with 24.45.

Earlier in the day, she failed to reach the 100m semifinals after declining a tie-breaking run with Japanese Kaori Sakagami. Both Irene and Sakagami clocked 11.82.

Coach Pieter Noya defended Irene's decision to refuse a last chance in the 100m, saying he preferred Irene to concentrate on the 200m.

"What's the use of running in a duel just to get a spot in the 100m final? I prefer her to run in the 200m."

Pieter blamed Irene's failure on the difficult situation before the championships.

"Moving to the hotel only two days prior to the championships also influenced Irene's physical condition. She was also late for the preparation yesterday as she only had about 20 minutes before the race started. I don't know, but it seems that officials at Hotel Indonesia failed to take good care of Irene," the coach said.

Pieter did not express fears that Irene might be unable to reach the semifinals in the Olympics.

"This tournament is only a stepping stone for Irene before competing in the Olympics. We still have 21 days left to prepare her," he said. (yan)

Results

Men's 20km walk: 1. Wu Ping (Chn) 1:28.04, 2. Hironori Kawai, Japan, 1:29:13. 3, Lee Dae-ro, South Korea, 1:30:36.

Men's Hammer Throw: 1. Wataru Ebihara (Jpn) 69.50 meters, 2. Ye Kuigang (Chn) 69.48, 3. Nasser Al Tarralla (Kuw) 66.98.

Men's 3,000-meter Steeplechase: 1. Khamis Abdullah (Qat) 8:47.33, 2. Hassan Al Asmari (Ksa) 8:52.85, 3. Hamid Sadjadi Hezaveh (Irn) 8:54.07.

Men's Triple Jump: 1. Nattapol Namkunha (Tha) 16.53 meters, 2. Maksim Smetarin (Kyr) 16.33, 3. Salem Al Muwalled (Ksa) 16.24.

Women's High Jump: 1. Bobby Aloysius (Ind) 1.83 meters, 2. Marina Korzhova (Kaz) 1.83, 3. Tatyana Efimenko (Kyr) 1.80.

Women's Pole Vault: 1. Takayo Kondo (Jpn) 4.0 meters, 2. Chang Ko-Hsin (Tpe) 3.9, 3. Masumi Ono (Jpn) 3.8.

Women's Heptathlon: 1. Svetlana Kazanina (Kaz) 6,074 points, 2. G.G. Pramila (Ind) 6,016, 3. Irina Naumenko (Kaz) 5,937.

Medals' tally(Gold, silver, bronze)

India (3, 3, 0), China (2, 3, 3), Japan (2, 2, 3), Kazakhstan (2, 1, 1), Qatar (2, 1, 0), Thailand (1, 0, 0), Indonesia (1, 0, 0), Saudi Arabia (0, 1, 1), Kyrgystan (0, 1, 1), Chinese Taipei (0, 1, 0), Iran (0, 0, 1), Kuwait (0, 0, 1), Korea (0, 0, 1), N. Korea (0, 0, 1).