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)