Supriati bags another gold and Games record
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat
JAKARTA (JP): Supriati Sutono won the much-anticipated rematch against Malaysian rival Yu Fang Yuan yesterday in the 10,000 meters, landing her second gold medal and Games record.
Supriati, 25, finished in 34 minutes 2.26 seconds, well inside the Games mark of 35:21.43. Yuan, 21, was next in 34:18.67.
Myanmar's 15-year-old barefoot runner, Mar Win Win, won the bronze with a time of 35:09.84.
On Monday, Supriati also beat Yuan in setting a new record in the 5,000 meters.
Her lone gold yesterday saved the day for the hosts, which scraped with an additional silver and two bronzes.
Thailand won four of the eight golds on offer and five silvers.
The 10,000 meters was a two-woman race from the outset of the 25 laps.
Yuan set a furious pace, but Supriati shrewdly tucked in behind her.
She pulled away from the badly fading Yuan in the backstretch of the final lap.
"I ran the pace that I wanted and just wanted to stay behind her most of the race," Supriati said.
Yuan's coach, Rengan Pakkri, described the Indonesian as "extremely good" and said he had underestimated her.
"Until yesterday, we thought the 5,000 and 10,000 meters were ours," he said.
A final showdown between the two in the 1,500 meters now seems in doubt, as Yuan was apparently spiked by one of the runners during the race. Her foot was bleeding as she left the track.
"It will be up to her whether she is able to compete," Pakkri said.
Supriati was nonchalant about her chances of achieving a hat trick of golds in the 1,500 meters, due to be held Saturday. "My target was the 5,000 meters, but of course I'll try my best."
Elma Posadas
Filipina Elma Posadas confirmed her standing as one of the region's most outstanding and enduring athletes with her second gold of the Games.
The mother of one grabbed the heptathlon in a Games record of 5,269 points, breaking the mark held by Indonesia's Rumini of 5,204.
Elma, 30, won four of the seven heptathlon events..
On Monday, she won the long jump gold, her eigth gold medal in that event since debuting in the 1983 SEA Games in Singapore.
She has a remarkable 11 golds to her Games tally.
Aging made it difficult to maintain the discipline for training, she said.
"This is the most difficult for me, but my mind kept on telling me 'fight Elma!'" she recounted.
She is not discounting the possibility of competing in the next Games in Brunei in 1999.
"Maybe I'll concentrate on one event," she said, referring to her cherished long jump.
Outstanding among the Thai run of golds was A. Kerdchang, who took the women's high jump gold with a new record of 1.88 meters. The jump was three centimeters higher than the old record held by compatriot R. Taemsri, who finished second.
Malaysia got two golds along with one silver and bronze.
Their long jumper, Zaki Sadri, broke his own Games record of 7.77 meters with a jump of 7.79.
The second Malaysian gold in the women's 10,000 meter walk was also a record-breaking performance, with Anastasia Silvaraj crossing the finish line in 48:6.05. The former record was 51:45.10.