Wisil Wows

SPRINTER Toea Wisil ran 23.69s to finish second in the 200m of the Australian national championships in Melbourne last weekend.
Track queen Wisil was beaten by Aussie London Olympics hopeful Melissa Breen, who won in 23.30s.
Wisil was slightly off her best, having set a Papua New Guinea national record of 23.46s in Brisbane last month.
Hurdler Mowen Boino was in equally fine form in the 400m hurdles, clocking an outstanding 50.68s in the heats last Friday to qualify second fastest for the final, just 0.18s behind Tristan Thomas.
Conditions in the final on Saturday were against them and both athletes ran almost a second slower, with Boino collecting the silver medal.
But the time remains Boino’s best since his national record of 50.37s set at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The Olympic qualification time for the 400m hurdles is 49.80.
Wisil’s silver medal in the 200m on Sunday came on the heels of a stressful week in Port Moresby waiting for her visa application to be processed. 
The Jiwaka native was up against the in-form Breen from the Australian Institute of Sport who followed up her 11.31s in the 100m on Saturday with victory in the 200m.
Wisil’s best 100m time is 11.49s set at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
She equalled that time in Brisbane a month ago, finishing behind Breen who clocked 11.47s.
The Olympic qualifying time for the women’s 100m is 11.38s.
“It was a pretty good effort from Toea to run 23.64s in the heats and 23.69 in the final considering what she has been through and only arriving in Melbourne at 5pm on Saturday,” Athle­tics PNG president Tony Green said.
Green thanked the Australian High Commission for processing her visa in three days when it would normally take five. 
Even then, Wisil was unable to make it to Melbourne in time for the 100m on Friday.
Another disappointment for Athletics PNG was that Nelson Stone was unable to compete because of a groin injury suffered the previous weekend in Lae, Morobe.
“Nelson showed at the Queensland Championships two weeks ago that he was getting back to his best form and was really looking forward
to the Australian Natio­nals,” Green said.
“It is a huge disappointment but there is no point risking further damage at this stage.”
Green said our athletes had not received invitations to the Asia Grand Prix next month in Thailand.
The next opportunity for them will be in the United Kingdom in June where the best four athletes will compete in qualifying competitions before the July 9 Olympic deadline.