Host leads 400m track
The National, Wednesday July 15th, 2015
PAPUA New Guinea dominated the 400m heats in the men’s and women’s races and are set for the finals tonight.
Sprinters Betty Burua, Toea Wisil and Donna Koniel, along with Theo Piniau, Nelson Stone and Kaminiel Matlaun are all set for a possible clean sweep of the one-lap race.
In the first women’s heat, Brisbane-based Burua had no trouble in the qualifying heat, finishing the race in a time of 55.97s ahead of Fiji’s Adi Alaiwalu Rayawa (56.88).
Burua was 2.97s off her personal best of 53.00.
Wisil then stamped her mark on the track in the second heat with 56.64s ahead of Fijian Elenani Tinai (57.57) and Koniel (57.82).
Burua, who strolled past to the finish line, was confident with her race.
“This is the first race and I’m just taking it one step at a time,” the East New Briton, said.
Burua said she was confident PNG would clean up in the 400m.