Athletics retains top status

Sports

ATHLETICS Papua New Guinea (APNG) retained its status as the No.1 track and field nation at the Pacific Games with 14 gold, 20 silver and 17 bronze.
Fiji finished second with 10 gold, seven silver and three bronze.
But Australia, competing for the first time in athletics, won gold in four events in which PNG had been dominant at recent Games. These events are the men’s 400m, men’s 400m hurdles, women’s 800m and women’s 100m hurdles.
“Given that PNG won silver in all these events in Apia, Samoa, then if one is comparing this year’s results with previous Games, our 14 gold should be 18,” APNG president Tony Green said in a statement.
“PNG athletes won gold medals in all disciplines of track and field – sprints, hurdles, relays, middle distance, long distance, jumps and throws and the 51 medals represents 37 per cent of Team PNG’s total.
“We never expected to match the total of 22 gold from 2015 but with far less financial backing for the team, this was a great result overall.
“Obviously Toea Wisil was one of the standout performers, winning gold in the 100m, 200m and 400m for the third Games in a row.
“This has never been done before, and Toea did it with her best performances for some time, showing once again that when she has her back against the wall, Toea is a formidable opponent.
“Poro Gahekave also had an outstanding Games with three gold medals and her personal bests in 1500m and 5000m show that she is still improving 12 years after her debut at the 2007 Games.
“Unfortunately, Poro developed a heavy cold after standing in the pouring rain for the 1500m medal presentation and wasn’t able to complete the half marathon.
“Much was made of Simbai Kaspar’s outstanding start to the week with gold in the 10000m and steeplechase but below-par performances in the 5000m and half marathon meant that the Games ended on a disappointing note for him.
“This was a Games in which Leonie Beu came of age with outstanding performances in the 100m 200m and 400m.
“What a pity she could not finish the Games with a deserved gold, despite helping the PNG squad to a national record in 45.97 seconds in the 4x100m relay.”
Green said there were many quality performances from the PNG team and the future looked bright.
Daniel Baul established himself as one of the rising stars of Pacific Island athletics with standout performances in the 400m and 400m hurdles,” he said.
“Peniel Richard had a great Games with a national record in the triple jump and medals in all three jumps.
“Annie Topal showed her quality by upstaging Rellie Kaputin in the triple jump and a quality run in the 400m hurdles soon after competing in the long jump.
“PNG again showed its depth in the men’s 400m with three athletes in the 47-point bracket behind Australian Steven Solomon who was a finalist in the 2012 Olympic Games 400m.
“Messach Fred, in his first year in athletics and one of the products of the National Sports Institute, was rewarded with silver in the 1500m.
“Karo Iga was a revelation in the decathlon and his performance is yet another reminder of how much talent there is out there in the villages waiting to be developed.
“The camp in Cairns, Australia, was an outstanding success and throws coach Brett Green did an admirable job in taking control of the team and building a wonderful team spirit that was noticed by many observers in Samoa.
“Credit must also go to team manageress Nola Peni for a massive effort over the past several months and in particular the final few weeks prior to the Games.”