Three provinces rule in 14th Games track and field

JAKARTA (JP): The 14th National Games' track and field competitions ended yesterday with nine new meet records, yet the most-awaited new national records failed to fall.

The new meet records were in the men's 110m hurdles, the men's long jump, the men's 800m, the women's 10,000m, the women's long jump, the women's 400m hurdles, the women's 4 x 400m relay, the women's 4 x 100m relay and the women's 1,500m.

The Javanese dominated the competitions, with East Java topping the standings with eight gold medals, four silver and four bronze medals. West Java shared the same number of gold and silver medals with East Java, but had one bronze deficit. Central Java was third with five gold, nine silver and 10 bronze medals.

Host Jakarta was fifth with five golds, six silvers and four bronzes, behind Irian Jaya -- the country's "Kenyan" province -- which scooped five golds, seven silvers and seven bronzes.

Nine provinces left the competition empty-handed. They are North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, Southeast Sulawesi, Bengkulu, Lampung, Central Sulawesi, Aceh and South Kalimantan.

Mohammad Hasan, the chairman of the Indonesian Track and Field Association, told reporters yesterday that a change of the guards was to blame for the absence of new national records.

"As you see, there are many new champions, whose names may not be familiar to you," Hasan said. He mentioned relatively new names in track and field, such as Supriyati (winner of the women's 5,000m and 1,500m), Kristian Kaise (javelin throw champion) and Agus Ngamel (double winner of the men's 100m and 200m dashes).

"They are new forces, emerging from our joint training system with the Ministry of Education and Culture. They are also products of our long-term national training camp program," Hasan added.

They are gradually replacing the older generation of Mardi Lestari, the national 100m record holder, or Frans Mahuse, the national javelin record holder, he said.

"These new-breeds are very young and seeking experience. Hence, it is quite reasonable if they have yet to break any national records," Hasan said.

Regeneration

Hasan, who is also chairman of the Asian Amateur Athletics Federation, said he was happy to see the regeneration program begin to work.

"Athletes who reached 25 years of age usually can no longer discipline themselves. Nor can they fully concentrate on their sports because they begin to think something else, such as how to get a well-paid job or marriage," he said. Hasan also looked upbeat concerning his athletes' performances in the 19th Southeast Asian Games here next year.

However, Tigor Tanjung, chief of the association's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games project, said that given the National Games results, it will remain difficult for Indonesia to overcome Thailand next year.

As for the country's best marathon runner, Ruwiyati, who has refused to defend her title at the 19th SEA Games, Hasan said that she has the freedom to make her own decision.

"She has the right to refuse. Whether or not she takes part in the Games is no problem for us. There are other runners who are ready to replace her...," Hasan said. (arf)

Medal tally:

G S B Jakarta 96 57 56 West Java 46 58 55 East Java 45 58 49 Central Java 19 28 46 Lampung 16 17 21 Jambi 15 10 8 South Kalimantan 13 9 6 South Sulawesi 9 13 17 Irian Jaya 9 9 12 Central Kalimantan 8 8 9 East Kalimantan 8 7 15 North Sumatra 8 7 12 North Sulawesi 7 12 17 West Kalimantan 6 5 4 South Sumatra 5 4 6 Southeast Sulawesi 5 2 4 Yogyakarta 4 9 11 Riau 4 2 7 Bali 3 8 12 West Sumatra 3 7 11 Maluku 3 2 10 East Nusa Tenggara 2 1 1 Bengkulu 1 3 7 Aceh 1 0 5 West Nusa Tenggara 1 0 1 Central Sulawesi 0 1 2 East Timor 0 0 9