| Sports |
Our women stand out
By HENRY MORABANG
PAPUA New Guinea women runners yesterday contributed two gold
medals to the overall PNG medal tally at the completion of the
event at the Apia Park National stadium tracks in Apia, Samoa.
In the process, they broke a Games record, and a national
record.
The women sprinters won the 4x100m (gold) in time of 45.99sec to
set the national record while earlier, in the 4x100m they
crossed the finishing line to smash the South Pacific Games
record and an all-time best record by any Pacific islands team.
Our champion sprinter Mae Koime, Toea Wisil and Ann Mooney
anchored the two four-woman events to the gold medals.
In the 4x100, Koime got off the starting-block in explosive
fashion to set up Wisil, Mooney and Raphaela Baki on their way
to the gold. The favourite, Fiji, came close at the finishing
line but Baki who had too much power to get PNG through to win.
Koime again kick-started the 4x400m event when she outpaced her
Fijian opponent at the turn of 200m to put ageless Mooney to a
comfortable pace before exchanging the baton with lanky Salome
Dell.
The Eastern Highlander Dell took a slow stride until the turn of
200 metres when she stormed home to put fellow teammate Wisil to
race home to win the gold medal.
Wisil had a stiff opposition from Fiji sprint queen Makelesi
Bulikobo as anchorwoman for her team but the Western Highlands
youngster held off a late surge from her to clock 3.04.55 – new
SP Games record.
Papua New Guinea’s men’s 4x100 metre relay team was disqualified
at the South Pacific Games after the first runner stepped on the
line, ending PNG’s final hope of a gold medal and postponing a
much anticipated clash with Melanesian rivals Fiji.
A series of disappointments has PNG athletics coach Naomi Polum
calling for athletes to be trained in Papua New Guinea.
“We have won it in the past and we knew we where going to get
this one, our hope was the four by one to get the gold and so it
is disappointing ... all that training,” Polum said.
After the 4x100 men relay team was disqualified, Team PNG hopes
for an upset in the 4x400m did not eventuate as Fiji team to won
the gold medal. It was a neck and neck tussle from start to
finish with the lead changing hands several times between Fiji
and our own Nelson Stone, Wala Gime and Fabian Niulai.
At the end, Mowen Boino had to settle for silver while Vanuatu
collected the bronzel.
PNG Athletic Union president Tony Green was impressed with the
overall performance of his athletes.
 
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