Wisil ready for Sydney
The National, Friday 12th April, 2013
Toea Wisil goes into the Australian National Championships in Sydney this weekend full of confidence after her blistering runs last Saturday.
Wisil blew away the opposition in the 100m and 200m at Australia’s premier track and field meet, the Melbourne Track Classic, which is the first leg of the IAAF World Challenge.
The nationals, being a championship event with large fields, could see three rounds in each event, with a first round, semi final and final unlike in Melbourne where the top eight athletes based on form were invited to run in straight finals.
“Toea must be quietly confident of becoming the first Papua New Guinean to win an event at the Australian National Championships,” Athletics PNG president Tony Green said.
“Whether Wisil will get the title of national champion however is another matter, as there is a debate raging with many insiders saying only Australians can be national champions.”
Green dismissed that talk, saying the important thing was the performance.
“If Toea wins, she wins … they can debate the issue till the cows come home, who cares really.
“We are not 100 per cent certainbut have consulted statistician Bob Snow and we can’t remember any PNG athlete winning an event at the Australian nationals,” Green said.
“The likes of Takale Tuna and Mowen Boino have come close. Toea herself has won the U20 Championships but not an open title and Lillyanne Beining won the U18 heptathlon in 1991 or 1992.”
Weather conditions in Sydney are ideal for sprinting and the competitors will all be hoping it stays that way through the weekend.
The first round of the women’s 100m is scheduled around 5pm on Friday, with the semi-finals and final on Saturday.
The 200m heats and finals will be run on Sunday.
The next major event for Wisil will be the Oceania Championships in Tahiti from June 3-5.
Winning an Oceania title will give Wisil automatic entry to the World Championships in Moscow from August 10- 8 .
Coach Sharon Hannan is confident that Wisil can run the qualifying times in the 100m (11.36s) and 200m (23.30)s.
Wisilis the reigning Pacific Games sprint queen.