Poor show at first track and field GP

Poor show at first track and field GP

JAKARTA (JP): The first Track and Field Grand Prix, which was
expected to feature national top athletes competing at the
Senayan Madya Stadium, turned out to be a poor-quality
competition as the event's second day saw only one event taking
place.

The women's 200m event was only attended by two sprinters;
Yolanda Worsiwori of Irian Jaya and Dedeh Erawati of West Java.
Yolanda finished first after clocking 26.42 seconds while Dedeh
was 0.02 seconds behind. Unfortunately, both sprinters failed to
meet the qualifying time for the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games
training program.

The women's long jump event was canceled due to the withdrawal
of national athlete Nyoman Rae Trisandiana of South Sumatra,
leaving Catur Sari Dewi of Central Java as the only participant.

Nyoman said she had just recovered from a head injury.

"I should have taken a rest after the National Games (PON) in
June but the following month I took part in the Asian
Championships. I rested after the event and now I'm back into
training. But I will need more time to gain my form and jump up
to 13 meters," she said.

In PON, Nyoman jumped 13.42m in the triple jump event and
6.04m in the long jump.

She complained of not having any tough contenders in the
triple jump event. She also expressed the hope of having an
equally-skilled practice partner in the training.

"I was hoping that (Catur Sari) Dewi could be a competitor for
my training session, but she only managed to jump 12 meters in
PON. She was one meter behind me."

Secretary General of the Indonesian Amateur Athletic
Association (PASI), Tigor M. Tanjung, said he was not too worried
over the Grand Prix results so far.

He also said athletes needed to go step by step before meeting
the required qualifying time and distance for the SEA Games
training.

"The standard must allow athletes to stretch to their limit
gradually. If we set a low target, there will be no Indonesian
athletes who qualify for the Olympics Games," he said.

There were also no records broken in the junior track and
field event.

Central Java tops the medal standings with six golds, six
silvers and two bronzes. West Nusa Tenggara was second with three
golds, three silvers and a bronze while East Java was next with
three golds, two silvers and two bronzes. (ivy)