Monagi sets heptathlon milestone

ADRINE Monagi set a new Papua New Guinea record last weekend in the women’s heptathlon.
Competing in the NCAA division two national championships in Bradenton, Florida, the former Lae-based Coronation College student scored a total of 5192 points to eclipse the record of 5037 points set by Iammo Launa in winning gold at the 1991 South Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
“Adrine was a little disappointed with her shot-put of 9.54m on the first day, as she has been consistently throwing around 10m all season,” Athletics PNG president Tony Green said.
”However her other three events of 100m hurdles (14.67) , high jump (1.64m) and 200m (25.37) were very solid.
“She ended day one some 40 points better than where she was when recording her previous best performance.”
On the second day, Monagi recorded a long jump of 5.66m and threw the javelin 37m before finishing off with a massive personal best of 2min 20.67s in the 800m.
The previous record holder, Launa, was an experienced representative athlete when she won the gold in the hyped-up atmosphere of Port Moresby during the 1991 Games and her 5037 heptathlon score was one of many special performances by the PNG athletes.
“Monagi is still 10 days shy of her 21st birthday and from her performances, has lots of potential for improvement,” Green said.