Field, track team on show

PAPUA New Guinea’s track and field team took their Pacific Games medal tally to 40 at Apia Park, Samoa, yesterday with six gold three silver and six bronze.
Toea Wisil led the way with another outstanding performance in the 200m as she blitzed the field in 23.45 seconds and later anchoring the women’s 4x400m relay to gold.
Sharon Toako won the women’s javelin with a throw of 47.13m ahead of defending champion Linda Selui, of New Caledonia, whose last effort of 45.49m was her best.
Annie Topal upstaged teammate and fellow East New Britain athlete Rellie Kaputin to win the triple jump with an outstanding 12.91m into a 3.7m/second headwind.
“Kaputin was second with 12.44m and such was the dominance of the PNG girls that there was a gap of 99cm to third place (Candice Richer in 11.45m),” Athletics PNG president Tony Green said in a statement.
“Poro Gahekave was again in superb form, dominating the women’s 1500m to finish in four minutes 42 seconds, which is a four-second improvement on her best time.
“At the halfway stage, a clean sweep for PNG appeared likely, however, Guam’s Genina Criss had other ideas and picked up the pace considerably to overhaul Jenny Albert and Lyanne Tibu.
“Donna Koniel put the women’s 4x400m relay team in a commanding position with an outstanding third leg to close the gap that had developed behind Fiji who had put their top runners Heleina Young and Ana Baleveicau first and second respectively.”
Not to be outdone, PNG also grabbed gold as Benjamin Aliel set the race with a commanding run in the first leg which Emmanual Wanga, Shadrick Tansi and Daniel Baul were able to maintain.
Traditional rivals Fiji never mounted a serious challenge to the PNG and finished almost three seconds behind, after overhauling Vanuatu in the third leg.
“Apart from Kaputin, silver medals were also won by Adrine Monagi in the 100m hurdles and by Raylyne Kanam in the heptathlon,” Green said.
“Monagi was up against Australian Brianna Beaham and a silver was a very good result.
“Bronze medals were won by Edna Boafob (heptathlon), Peniel Richard (long Jump), Theo Piniau and Leonie Beu (200m), Lyanne Tibu 1500m, and James Kuadua in the 5000m.”
Today is the final day of track and field events at Apia Park Stadium and PNG’s top prospects for gold will be in the women’s steeplechase (Gahekave), women’s 400m hurdles (Topal and Koniel), women’s long jump (Kaputin), women’s 4x100m relay and the men’s triple jump (Peniel Richard).
The half-marathon road race of 21km will be run tomorrow morning with Gahekave carrying PNG’s hopes in the women’s race.
Three athletes will be chosen on today from the four men — Sapolai Yao, Simbai Kaspar, Siune Kagl and James Kuadua — available to represent PNG.