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.