Sprinter off to Finland for U20 championships

Port Moresby-based sprinter Manoka John, pictured, heads to Canberra, Australia, en route to Finland for the IAAF World U20 Championships which will be held in Tampere from July 10-15.
John clinched the only place available for Papua New Guinea with a solid series of three 100m races in Goroka at the recent PNG Air Highlands Momase Athletic Championships, clocking times of 11.22, 11.20 and 11.22 seconds.
John first came to the attention of Athletics PNG last year with occasional glimpses of his speed shown in local competitions in Port Moresby.
“However, he didn’t produce his best at the National Championships and PNG Games and was not really in contention for selection until very recently” Athletics PNG president Tony Green said.
“We staged a camp at the National Sports Institute last January to identify possible candidates for this event but a number of those athlete dropped out of contention for varying reasons.
“School commitments, lack of recent competition results and information concerning training commitment also made it difficult to select an athlete.
“But I have no doubt that we have a quality athlete with a bright future in Manoka.”
John will compete at a meet in Canberra on Saturday before flying to Helsinki.