PON XIX: Jakarta Dominates on First Day of Athletics Event
Jakarta. Jakarta delivered a strong performance on the first day of the athletics competition at the 19th National Sports Week, or PON XIX, at Pakansari Stadium in Bogor, West Java, on Thursday (22/09).
Athletes from the capital won three of the eight gold medals that were on offer, while the rest went to West Java, Papua, West Sumatra, East Java and Bangka Belitung. Jakarta's medals came courtesy of Rini Budiarti in the women's 5,000 meters, Ardiansyah Apandi in the men's hammer throw and Nadia Anggraini in the women's high jump.
Ardiansyah also achieved a new record with his throw of 52.28 meters, surpassing Ong Kok Kin's 2004 record of 52.16 m.
It was Ardiansyah's first gold at the National Sports Week, which he sees as his motivation for next year's Southeast Asia Games.
"At the 2012 National Sports Week, I only managed to get a silver medal and now I won gold. This is my best performance yet," he told Antara news agency.
"I went all out in my first attempt," he added, referring to breaking the record with his first attempt. "With that record, I'm eligible to compete in the SEA Games, which has a qualifying distance of 50 m."
Tags: Keywords: