Track and field still dearth of new records
Track and field still dearth of new records
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite cash bonuses being promised at the National Track and
Field Championships, athletes failed to rise to the challenge as
no new national records were bettered on the second day of the
competition at the Madya stadium here on Sunday.
After a lackluster opening day, seven events were on the
roster on Sunday.
Zulkarnaen Purba won the gold medal in the men's 110 meter
hurdles for North Sumatra, but his 14.68 seconds was outside the
14.29 second record set by Heru Prayogo in 1987.
In the shot put event the disparity between past and current
achievements was evident, as champion Tati Ratna Ningsih from
Nangroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD), failed to break her national
record of 51.76 meters, recording just 41.44 meters.
Seven contingents evenly shared the honor. However, it was the
Central Java team that leads the tournament with two gold medals.
After Kanan won the opening gold in the men's shot put on
Saturday, Trianingsih doubled the collection on Sunday after she
triumphed in the women's 10,000 meters with a time of 37 minutes,
14.44 seconds. The national best is 32 minutes and 52.45 seconds.
Ong Kok Hin threw the hammer 48.76 meters to win the men's
hammer throw for South Sumatra. Other contingents from the
Sumatra joining the victories included Bengkulu, through Desi
Yunita in the Women's high jump, and Bangka Belitung, courtesy of
Suryo Agung in the men's 100 meters.
Dedeh Irawati earned Jakarta a gold medal in the women's 100
meter hurdles and Deysie Sumigar for North Sulawesi in the
women's 100 meters.
The Indonesian Amateur Athletics Association (PASI) is
offering a reward of Rp 10 million (US$1219) in cash bonuses for
athletes who are able to set new national records at the
championships.
PASI secretary general Tigor Tanjung attributed the lack of
record setting largely on the recent monetary crisis.
"Since the economic crisis hit the country in 1998, our sports
has been generally suffering, resulting, particularly in track
and field, in the lack of high-performance achievements," he
said.
Although new records have yet to come, Tigor was optimistic
that new talents would emerge as PASI was concentrating more on
bringing the sports back at the grassroots level.
"Suryo Agung, who won the 100-meter sprint event on Sunday,
has been groomed by PASI since he was very young. He is a good
prospect for the future."
The track and field meet, which will run until Tuesday, serves
as the qualifying field for the 2004 National Games and provides
opportunities for the athletes to win slots on the national team
for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam in December.