Wismoyo tells swimmers to win back national pride

JAKARTA (JP): Wismoyo Arismunandar, the National Sports Council's chairman, went to the Senayan Swimming Pool yesterday to encourage the national swimming team to clean up in the pool at the 19th SEA Games.

"You will have to stop Thailand's swimmers dominating the events. The fight to win back our honor will require your sacrifice," he said.

He told second string swimmers before training yesterday that Thailand had dominated shooting, track and field, gymnastics and swimming at the 1995 Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

"Indonesia with 200 million people lost to Thailand, which has only 60 million people. I don't want that to happen this year," he said.

Indonesia won only four golds, nine silvers and 17 bronzes in swimming at the last SEA Games. Thailand dominated the pool with 22 golds, 19 silvers and 11 bronzes.

There will be 39 swimming medals at the Jakarta SEA Games from Oct. 11 to Oct. 19.

But the Indonesian Swimming Association's chairman, Rahadi Ramela, said the association would be happy if its swimmers came away with five gold medals.

"Winning five golds would be an optimal performance. Our swimmers are the same as at the last Games," he said.

Rahadi said the association was training young talent in its third string for the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games.

"If some of them can progress greatly, we'll promote them to be second string swimmers," he said.

For its third string, the association selected 32 swimmers out of 81 competing at last year's national swimming inter-club championships.

Eight of the country's best swimmers -- Richard Sam Bera, Wisnu Wardhana, Albert C. Sutanto, Felix C. Sutanto, Denny Kurniawan, Audi Oktavian, Olga Halim and Elsa Manora Nasution -- have been sent to the United States to train. Richard is in Arizona and the others are in California.

Catherine Surya is continuing to train in Brisbane, Australia.

Meitri Widya Pangestika and Rita Mariani are training here because of school commitments. They are in their last year of senior high school and will have exams soon.

Lukman Niode, the swimming training coordinator, said Richard would be fit for competition by June and Wisnu would be by May.

Catherine is already in top form with a recent personal best, national record and SEA Games record. She will swim at the III Short Course Swimming World Championships in Gothenborg, Sweden, from April 17 to April 20.

Many of the country's best swimmers will compete in the Arafura Games in Darwin from May 10 to May 18, the ASEAN Age Group Swimming Championships in Brunei Darussalam from June 2 to June 4 and the Universiade in Sicily from Aug. 20 to Aug. 31.

Second string swimmers will compete in the 24th Southeast Asia Inter-Club Age Group Swimming Championship in Karawaci, Tangerang, from March 27 to March 29.

The association has its eye on winning one gold medal in diving and another in synchronized swimming.

The national diving team will compete in the national championships from June 25 to June 27 and the Universiade before training in China.

The Synchronized swimming team will compete in the Japan Open in Tokyo from April 27 to April 29 and the U.S. Open Junior and Senior Championships in Portland, Oregon, from July 21 to July 26. (yan)