Marathon golds fail to stop Thais

Thu, 14 Dec 1995, 00:00 WIB

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (JP): Two record-breaking runs by
Indonesian marathon runners were not enough to spoil Thailand's
gold sweep on the fourth day of the Southeast Asian Games
yesterday.

By late afternoon, Indonesia had added nine more golds to
bring its total tally to 33. Thailand swept golds on almost all
fronts, raising its tally to 80 from 55 at the start of the day.

Gone was the Indonesian official slogan Kita Harus Menang
(We've Got To Win) so often heard in Indonesia in the two months
prior the Games.

Indonesian athletes continued their fight, but now with a
different objective of making a respectable second position,
salvaging golds here and there against the formidable Thai gold-
making machine.

At least the morning began brightly for Indonesia, with both
golds in the marathons and new Games' records in the process.

Ruwiyati, an 18-year old high school student from Salatiga,
Central Java, ripped 11.14 seconds off the meet's record, helped
by the early-morning, 13-degree-Celsius temperature of nearby
Lamphun province and the blistering pace she shared with favored
British-Singaporean runner Yvonne Danson.

She completed the course in 2 hours 34mins 29secs, shattering
the 1989 record set by her compatriot Suryati.

"We knew long beforehand that she would be running against
this girl from England," said Ruwiyati's coach Peter Noya,
explaining that she had trained at a high altitude in her
hometown Salatiga.

Suyono, from East Kalimantan, completed the Indonesian double
by winning the men's event in 2:21.02. He too rewrote the Games
mark. His 2:21.09 run improved by 1.43mins the 1991 record of
Filipino runner Herman Suizo, who did not finish this time.

Unfortunately, the marathoners failed to lift the fighting
spirit of their fellow Indonesians as most continued to play
second, or even third fiddles to the host athletes.

The few other golds that added to Indonesia's tally were
contributed, among others, by Oka Gusti Sulaksana in
windsurfing's Mistral heavyweight and Edi Musiyamtoro in the
men's tae kwon do lightweight category.

In the swimming pool, Indonesia managed only one gold from the
men's 4-by-100-meter freestyle and in gymnastics, Jonathan
Manggiring Sianturi won the men's ring category.

Indonesia earned its fourth and fifth judo golds from men's
lightweight Yudie Sulistiyo and Wahid Yudi Sulistianto in the
men's half-lightweight category.

Host Thailand is also picking up gold in some of the more
prestigious sports.

Yesterday, its three-man team high-kicked its way to victory
2-1 against rival Malaysia in sepak takraw, a regional game which
is like volleyball, but played with the feet and using rattan
ball.

The cheering crowd, banging drums and waving flags helped
inspire the Thai side to overwhelm the Malaysians, who had hoped
to win the hotly-contested competition.

Singapore's Joscelyn Yeo and Thailand's Rattapong Srisanont,
who have both been swimming their way to victory and new records
over the past few days, continued their golden streaks.

Yeo improved her 100m freestyle record by nearly half a
second, winning gold in 57.19 seconds.

Rattapong, who has become a cult hero to fans packing the
stands, shaved more than two seconds off his old 200m individual
medley record to set a new one of two minutes, 4.74 seconds.

Thai marksmen and women continued to mine gold, winning the
men's free pistol tea and individual events, and the men's air
rifle team and individual events. (amd)