Olympic-trained swimmers undergo selection at PON

Olympic-trained swimmers undergo selection at PON

By Ivy Susanti

SURABAYA (JP): The performance at the 15th National Games
(PON) of swimmers who attended the Olympic training program will
help determine who will be selected to represent Indonesia at the
quadrennial event being held in Sydney in September.

Gerald H. Item of the Indonesian Swimming Association said the
association would review the performances of some of its
swimmers before selecting its lineup for the Olympics.

"They might not be under so much pressure at PON, but they
have to show that they are still good enough to join the Olympic
team. Some of them will be evaluated. If there are swimmers who
are not members of the training program that can show us they can
do better than the Olympic-trained swimmers, they will be
invited," Gerald said on Thursday.

He refused to name those swimmers whose performances would be
reviewed, but said that veteran women's swimmers like Rita
Mariani, Meitri Widya Pangestika and Siripiya Sutanto, and young
men's swimmers like Audi Oktavian would be welcomed on the team
if they could perform.

Meanwhile, host East Java continued its domination on the
third day of competition at PON, ending the day with 33 golds, 20
silvers and 20 bronzes. West Java remained in second position
with 18 golds, 15 silvers and 16 bronzes, leaving Jakarta, the
overall champion at the 1996 PON, in third place with 14 golds,
17 silvers and 21 bronzes.

PON has been acknowledged by FINA as a prequalifying round for
the Olympics. One swimmer who attended the Olympic training
program, Elsa Manora Nasution, said her performance would be
reviewed.

"The officials want me to perform well in PON. They want me to
be consistent. They don't expect me to be lazy because I have
already qualified for the Olympics," said Elsa, who qualified for
the Olympics in the 100m backstroke at the 1999 Southeast Asian
(SEA) Games.

Elsa has won gold in the 200m relay event and 200m backstroke
and a bronze in the 100m freestyle at PON.

Siripiya, who won a gold for Jakarta in the 100m freestyle,
expressed hope that she could qualify for the Olympics at PON in
her favorite event, the 200m freestyle.

"I hope I can surpass the Olympic qualifying time of two
minutes 07:07 seconds in the 200m freestyle. I have already swam
so close to the time. During the Southeast Asian Age Group
swimming championship last month, I managed to reach 2 minutes
08:50 seconds," she said.

In other events, two judokas who attended the Olympic training
program, Aprilia Marzuki of South Sumatra and Kresna Bayu of West
Java, were too strong for their rivals.

Aprilia beat Wardiyati of Jakarta in the women's 63-70
kilogram class and Bayu defeated host judoka Wisnu Sri Basuki in
the men's 81-90 kilogram event to claim gold medals.

Another member of the Olympic training program, Hamdiah of
East Kalimantan, managed a third-place finish in the Olympic
version of the FITA round on Thursday. Lilis Handayani of East
Java won the gold medal while Purnama Pandiangan of Lampung
earned silver.

Violence

Unfortunately, the third day of action at PON was marred by
violence. On the soccer pitch, FIFA assistant referee Joseph
Laisina was mobbed by the Irian team and its supporters following
a 0-3 loss to North Sumatra at Petrokimia soccer stadium in
Gresik on Thursday.

Laisina received serious injuries to his head before the mob
dispersed after police fired warning shots.

And North Sumatra supporters pelted the arena floor with
missiles after referees declared women's taekwondoin Farah of
West Java the winner of the bantamweight division over Normaliani
Potu of North Sumatra.

After long deliberations, the referees revised their decision,
declaring the gold would be shared by Potu and Farah.

Medal Tally (as of 9:11 p.m.)
Provinces G S B
East Java 33 20 20
West Java 18 15 16
Jakarta 14 17 21
Central Java 7 9 10
Lampung 7 8 8
North Sumatra 4 3 9
Jambi 4 3 6
East Kalimantan 4 3 4
South Sulawesi 3 8 8
North Sulawesi 3 3 6
Papua 3 2 4
South Kalimantan 3 1 1
Yogyakarta 2 3 9
Southeast Sulawesi 2 1 1
South Sumatra 1 2 4
Bali 1 2 1
West Kalimantan 1 1 1
Central Kalimantan - 3 3
Riau - 3 -
Maluku - 1 2
Bengkulu - 1 -
Aceh - - 4
Aceh - - 1
West Sumatra - - -
Central Sulawesi - - -
West Nusa Tenggara - - -
East Nusa Tenggara - - -