Violence mars Tersiana's feat

Violence mars Tersiana's feat

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The 20,000-meter walk was the only record-breaking event in the
four-day National Track and Field Championships, which ended in a
bizarre manner on Tuesday.

Tersiana Riwu Rohi won the gold medal for Jakarta in the
20,000-meter walk after she finished first in one hour, 40
minutes and 24.18 seconds, which not only surpasses the national
record but also the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games mark.

The SEA Games record is 01:42:55 and was recorded by Fang
Yuang Yu at the 2001 Kuala Lumpur games where Tersiana came
second in 1:45:40, which had been the best national record until
Tuesday.

Tersiana will be rewarded a cash bonus of Rp 10 million
(US$1219) for her achievement, provided by the National Sports
Council (KONI).

However, her outstanding performance was soured by an on-track
riot, shamefully brought about by a dissatisfied Papuan
contingent, which brought the day to a premature end.

The Papuan contingent displayed a lack of sportsmanship with
more than 40 athletes and team officials, who were infuriated by
dubious officiating in the women's 4x400 meter relay and
subsequently stormed onto the track.

The incident flared up when in the second lap of the event,
West Java runner Enung Neni tripped up Papuan Ida Koray, causing
the latter to lose her grip on the baton.

Ida ran back to pick up the baton before continuing her run.
The team placed last in the five-team race.

The Papuan contingent in the stand started shouting at the
tournament stewards, demanding that the West Java team be
disqualified.

Just as runners crossed the finish line, a large group of
Papuan athletes and team officials stormed onto the track and
attacked stewards and race judges mercilessly. Some also
vandalized facilities at the stadium.

Spectators were horrified at seeing well-built athletes
throwing punches at helpless stewards and race judges.

Order was restored after 10 minutes, when the Indonesian
Amateur Athletics Association (PASI) committee members came on
the field to calm the unruly crowd.

Three tournament stewards had to be taken to the hospital,
while several others received treatment for minor injuries.

As a result, PASI canceled the women's relay 4x400 meter event
and the men's relay 4x400 meter, which was to have closed the
day's competition and the championships.

The chairman of the national championship, Purnomo M. Yudi,
regretted the incident, saying that it was the first time such an
incident had occurred during a track and field event.

Meanwhile, PASI secretary-general Tigor Tanjung said the
association would meet to decide whether any sanctions would be
imposed on the Papuan team, which emerged as the overall gold
medal winner with eight.

"I also regret the incident. It's stipulated clearly that any
protest should be lodged with the judges after the race. So this
incident shouldn't have happened," he said.

Jakarta finished in second place with five golds, followed by
South Sumatra also with five golds, but with fewer silvers and
bronzes.