RDC looking to boost heptathlon buildup

RDC looking to boost heptathlon buildup

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Jakarta-based Regional Development Center is seeking to
increase participation in the heptathlon in Southeast Asia, an
event it says is the key to women's track and field success in
international athletics.

The combined event for women, comprising the 100-meter
hurdles, 200 and 800-meter sprints, shot put, javelin throw, high
jump and long jump, has had little support from regional sports
bodies in the region, the center said.

The men's version of the heptathlon is the 10-event decathlon.

"We are looking to further promote the event in Southeast Asia
because many (track and field) associations here don't realize
that the (heptathlon) is the basis of athletics," sport expert
Hans-Peter Thumm told The Jakarta Post here on Monday.

Thumm, from Germany, is the mentor of the international Youth
Heptathlon Training Camp, hosted by the RDC, which began on
Monday in Jakarta.

The International Association of Athletic Federations-
sanctioned camp trains 20 coaches from 10 countries and runs
until Sept. 2. Representatives from Bangladesh, India and Sri
Lanka are joining their counterparts from Malaysia, Myanmar, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Thumm said paying attention to the heptathlon was a vital way
of nurturing young talent in athletics.

"A nation that neglects this combined event is reducing
athletics to specialized events and is destroying the base of
athletics," he said.

He said beginner athletes should take up multi-event training
programs, which were common in successful sporting countries.

"Youngsters of between eight and nine years old in regions
such as Europe, the United States, Australia and China take part
in multi-event programs in the early phases of their training,"
he said.

"Because children are by nature interested in athletics as a
whole, not in specialized events, we shouldn't restrict them to
training in a single event."

The camp would train coaches in the latest coaching
techniques, Thumm said.

"(After the camp) the coaches should be able to better observe
the strengths and weaknesses of their athletes. Hopefully, when
they return to their home countries they will train more
effectively."

Thumm has been helping Indonesia scout for sporting talent
since 2002 through a joint Indonesian-German program.