PNG dominate at meet

THE Papua New Guinea-dominated Melanesian team are the 2023 Oceania Cup winners following a two-day athletics tournament in Saipan, Northern Marianna, over the weekend.
The team consisting of athletes mostly from PNG, and individual representatives from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Norfolk Island scored a total of 273 points ahead of the Polynesian team with 196, Australia with 190 and Micronesia with 163.
With the Pacific Games just five months away, many of PNG’s athletes were in great form and many set new personal best performances.
Strong headwinds made fast times difficult for the sprinters, however Leroy Kamau, Leonie Beu and Pais Wisil all recorded strong performances.
Personal bests were set by Adolf Kauba, who clocked 48.01 seconds in the 400m men’s race while Scholastica Herman clocked 2 mins and 23.80 seconds in her 800m race.
Edna Boafob on the other hand managed to get a record of 1.55m in her high jump performance and a 63:38 seconds in the 400m hurdles, while Karo Iga broke his personal best setting a new mark of 52.04m in the javelin throw.
PNG’s dominance of the sprint events was evident in the result of the men’s 4 x100m relay where non specialist sprinters Karo Iga and Daniel Baul combined with Kamau and Wisil to clock an outstanding 40.71 seconds which is the sixth fastest time to be ever run by the PNG Men’s 4x100m relay team.
The Melanesia mixed relay team also dominated by PNG athletes also won the mixed 4 x100m relay of which Adrine Monagi, Kamau, Beu and Wisil combined to run a 43.05 second race.
These PNG athletes are expected to return to the country later this week to prepare for the upcoming 2023 National Athletics Championships leading to their preparations for the 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands, that starts in November.