Sunda Straits race fails to lure foreign competitors

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The annual swimming and rowing competitions across the Sunda Straits will resume after a lapse of five years, but no foreigners are expected to participate in them.

Marines Corps Commander Maj. Gen. Harry Triono told a media conference at the Marines' elite force (Denjaka) headquarters on Thursday that 89 swimmers, mostly corps members, and 18 rowing teams had qualified for the races, to be held on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30.

"I'm pessimistic that swimmers and rowers from our neighboring countries will turn up this time around. Probably they are worried about current political development in the country." Harry said.

From their inception in 1991 until the competitions were halted in 1997, foreign participants from the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand had never missed them, according to Harry.

Indonesia experienced vociferous anti-U.S. rallies after the superpower launched an attack on Afghanistan nearly two weeks ago in apparent retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

The race across the Sunda Straits, which separates Java and Sumatra, will be held in conjunction with the corps' 56th anniversary, which fell on Oct. 18.

Harry said competitors in swimming are restricted to only 130 and in rowing to only 35 teams due to the corps' limited safety precaution capability.

"Only those who can swim over 23 kilometers of track within 10 hours at a minimum speed of 1.5 miles per hour will be allowed to compete," Harry said.

Participants will cover a 32.4 kilometer route from Ketapang Port in Lampung to Merak Port in Banten. Along the way, Marines boats will escort them at a radius of 150 meters, while two Navy ships and a helicopter will be on standby for immediate help.

A rowing team consists of 11 crews.

The swimming race will start at 11 p.m. on Oct. 29, while the rowing competition will be flagged off at 4 a.m. on Oct. 30.

The winning swimmer will secure Rp 10 million plus a motorcycle, while the triumphant rowing team will share Rp 7 million in cash plus 11 VCD players.

Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Indroko Sastrowiyono will wave off the competitors with a checkered flag. A group of Marines Corps top brass, including Harry, will participate in the open swimming contest for a mile.