Runners do well in world c’ships in Australia

ATHLETICS PNG’s distance running squad have performed well in Wednesday’s Queensland 3,000m championship after participating in the recent World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, Australia.
Just after nine days of competing in the world championships in New South Wales, five athletes delivered good timings in Queensland.
Distance runners coach Brett Green said: “Torrential rain put paid to any hopes of running the times that the athletes are capable of, however we are pleased to see that the athletes are learning to race”.
He said of the five athletes, Aquila Turalom was the first PNG runner among 17 runners in total to clock 9 minutes 07 seconds, followed by Siune Kagl, Abel Siune and James Kuadu.
Mary Tenge on the other hand competed well in the open women’s division and had a tussle with local athlete Jessica Sammon over the last lap, with the pair ending the heat with 11 mins 43 sec.
The five are among nine athletes that travelled to Gold Coast, Australia through support from the Oceania Athletic Association and the Gold Coast Attract Programme, to train and participate in the World Cross Country Championships last month.
The placement is part of Athletics PNG’s preparation for the Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands.