NSI team set for national track and field c’ships

By PATRICIA KEAMO
PAPUA New Guinea women’s sprint champion Toea Wisil, along with three other athletes from the National Sports Institute’s development team, are gearing up for the PNG Air National Track and Field Championships which begin today at Sasi Muthuvel Stadium in Kimbe, West New Britain.
Institute director Janet Gimots said sprinters Paias Wisil and Jobby Kinzu, along with the coaching team, remained in Kimbe following last weekend’s Grand Prix series while the rest of the team arrived yesterday.
“All of us are already in Kimbe preparing for the nationals, except for our middle distance runner Sane Arui who is arriving today,” she told The National yesterday.
“Paias, Toea and Jobby will start competing on Saturday (tomorrow) while Sane’s events starts on the opening day (today).”
“The Wisil siblings, Toea and Paias, will be competing respectively in the open women’s and men’s 100m, 200m and 400m.”
After dominating most of the sprint events in last weekend’s Grand Prix series, Paias is primed for the nationals.
He clocked an improved time of 10.7 seconds in the 100m compared with his hit-out in the first leg in Port Moresby in July (11.2s).
Kinzu also fared well in the 100m, clocking 11.0s in his Grand Prix series debut.
Gimots said all athletes had set their targets with their coaches prior to travelling and would be working to achieve them. Head coach Samu Sasama was impressed with Paias and Kinzu during the series.
“I am very proud of their progress and achievements especially Paias,” he said.
“He has really improved this time and I know he can get better.
“This is the second year of the athlete development programme and their successes are a result of the residential scholarship the pair are a part of at the institute.
“I can’t thank the institute enough for the programme.”