No records look set to be broken at Bob Hasan meet
No records look set to be broken at Bob Hasan meet
JAKARTA (JP): The world-class runners competing in the second
Bob Hasan Invitational track and field meet tomorrow evening,
promised their best performances of the season but record
breaking looks unlikely.
Speaking at a press conference at the Senayan Madya stadium
after a short coaching clinic yesterday, American sprinter Dennis
Mitchell said that he did not expect to break his own record
during the meet.
"I don't think I'll have the chance of clocking my target time
of 9.83 seconds," Mitchell said. "But anything can happen," he
quickly added.
Mitchell, whose best time is 9.91, is now ranked ninth in the
world.
In tomorrow's event, slated from 5 p.m. to 7.30 p.m., Mitchell
is up against compatriot Vincent Henderson and other world-class
runners.
Henderson, who clocked the best time of the year of 10.00 last
month, also declined to promise a record-breaking time in his
first trip to Indonesia, saying that he was still suffering from
jet lag after a 22-hour flight.
Both sprinters said that they are focusing on qualifying for
the Olympics in Atlanta, which will run from July 19 to Aug. 4.
Only 25 out of 44 athletes invited to the one-day competition
practiced at the stadium yesterday. The rest of the group was
scheduled to arrive yesterday afternoon.
Jamaican female sprinter Juliet Cuthbert, who joined the
Americans in the conference, said that the invitational event
here will serve as her warm-up before taking part in a world
grand prix meet in Osaka, Japan, on May 11.
"I just want to run fast here, at least to equal my best time
10:83," she said. Cuthbert set her personal best in the 1992
Olympics in Barcelona, on her way to a silver medal.
Chairman of the Indonesian Amateur Athletic Association
Mohammad (Bob) Hasan asked national athletes to learn from the
international meet.
"At least, they'll know what a competition with top stars in
track and field looks like. This should motivate them to do as
well as the world athletes," he said.
State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman is
scheduled to open the meet, the second since 1994. (yan)