Two Asian records shattered at PON
Moch. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Palembang
Following Sutrisno's world record on Wednesday, the second day of the powerlifting competition at the National Games saw two Asian records broken in the women's 52-kilogram category on Thursday.
Lifters Marlina of Lampung and Dian Ros of East Java each managed to lift a total of 472.5 kilograms which surpassed the Asian record of 450 set by Lin Li-Ming of Chinese Taipei in 1998.
With both lifting exactly the same weight, exact body weight counted in the decision. And Marlina took the gold thanks to the fact that the she weighed 100 grams lighter than Dian.
Marlina weighed 51.8 kilograms, compared to Ros' 51.9 kilograms. Evi Erinaya of West Kalimantan took the bronze with a total lift of 437.5 kilograms.
The other new Asian record was set in the women's 56-kilogram class, courtesy of Sri Hartati of Lampung.
She beat her opponents with a total lift of 485 kilograms, which was also a new Asian mark. The old mark was 462.5 kilograms set by Mir Nadejda of Kazakstan in 1996.
On Wednesday, Sutrisno, in the men's 60-kg category, shattered his own world record of 715 kilograms he set in South Korea in 2002. His new mark is 725.
Despite their outstanding performances, they may not have their marks recognized by the International Powerlifting Federation.
According to Imron Rosyadi, powerlifting coach of the Lampung squad, the world record could only be recognized in an event recognized by the world's governing body. The same applied for the Asian record.
On Thursday, Marlina and Dian Ros also enjoyed other honors in their efforts with the former improving the Games record in the bench press from 110 kilograms to 115 kilograms and the latter bettering the squat record from 180 kilograms to 200 kilograms.
In the 56-kilogram class, Siti Jamiah of West Kalimantan won silver with a total lift of 460 kilograms, while Besimah Haluk of South Kalimantan took bronze with a total of 432.5 kilograms.
Friday's competition will play see the women's 75, 83.5 and over-82.5 kg classes, as well as the men's 100 and over-100 categories.