PNG leaped off to a good start at the Oceania Track and Field Athletics Championships in Suva, Fiji, yesterday evening, winning two gold medals and one silver in the opening session.
Rellie Kaputin won the long jump with her fifth jump of the competition, leapfrogging Australian Jessie Harper who had led from the first round.
There were no records this time for Kaputin but she did have the satisfaction of being the only athlete to record six legal jumps, taking off behind the board every time.
Simbai Kaspar was the surprise winner of the men’s 5000m in a time of 15mins 50 seconds, which is just a shade outside his personal best of 15min 49sec set in 2015.
Fellow Simbu athlete Abel Siune won silver in the U20 men’s 5000m.
Young Roland Hure, in his first overseas competition, came close, falling agonisingly short by one centimetre outside the medal contention in the U20 long jump.