Hurdler off to Poland for world titles

 PAPUA New Guinea’s Sharon Kwarula, pictured, heads to Poland this week full of confidence after setting a Lone Star Indoor Conference championships record of 8.01 seconds in the 55-metre hurdles.

The time came off a resounding victory last Saturday in Lubbock, Texas when the East New Britain lass assisted her team to a school record of 3 minutes 47.59 seconds in winning the 4 x 400m relay.

Kwarula, who is a student at West Texas A&M University, will compete in the 60m hurdles event and will be up against the best in the world including Olympic Champion Sally Pearson of Australia.  

Kwarula is well prepared, having run a total of eight sprint hurdle races indoors this season, according to Athletics Papua New Guinea president Tony Green.

She improved her 60m hurdle time from 8.83secs last year to a personal best of 8.68 this season while running for West Texas. It will be Kwarula’s second world indoor championships, having competed in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2012. Kwarula is one of the elite athletes training overseas who is expected to form Athletics PNG’s corefor next year’s Pacific Games in Port Moresby.