Athletics

These trials were mainly concentrated in the track events for both abled and para athletes.

The preseason trials are important events for the coaches to assess and identify talents before they are classified.

Port Moresby Athletics Technical Official John Gitiri said this year their main focus is on identifying younger boys and girls, and young women to join athletics.

That is why they continue to encourage young boys and girls from U16, and U18 to U20 to come out to Sir John Guise stadium, get registered and be put through odd races before they can be classified.

Obviously the key event for this year is the Pacific Games in Honiara and clearly the objective for PNG Athletics is  to maintain its position as the #1 track and field nation in the Pacific.

“We are aiming to build on our resounding success at the 2022 Mini Games by keeping the momentum going with our programmes and all stakeholders must recognize that we will face stronger competition in Honiara, so we need to be prepared for that”, said President Tony Green.

Whilst the Cloud County based athletes in Kansas had a relatively quiet weekend ahead of their regional championships this coming weekend, jumpers Roland Hure and Annie Topal both posted excellent performances.

Competing at an Open Meet in Indianola, Iowa, Hure jumped a personal best of 7.25m in the long jump; which is just one centimetre outside the national record set by Peniel Richard last year.

He also ran an impressive 10.77secs in the 100m, signaling to the PNG team coaches that he wants to be considered for the 4*100m relay at the Games.

Competing on their home track in the city of Concordia the athletes continued their excellent recent form with Leroy Kamau again leading the way and with Isila Apkup and Shadrick Tansi also posting great performances.

Kamau followed up a wind assisted 10.36 sec clocking in the 100m (+4.7) with a sensational 20.85seconds in the 200m. The following wind (measured at 3.3metres per second) meant that this cannot be recognised as a national record but it is once again as sign that Kamau is heading for something special in the near future.

His top performance has moved him from thirteenth place to eighth on the PNG All Time Best performance list for the 400m. Only Nelson Stone, Subul Babo, Baobo Neuendorf, Geoffrey Bai, Clement Abai, Takale Tuna and Daniel Baul have recorded faster times.

Competing in the same heat, Jonathan Dende posted an excellent 48.75 seconds just outside his personal best of 48.74 run at the PNG Air Grand Prix in Port Moresby last year.

Fellow Morobean athlete Leonie Beu is also in great form, clocking 56.09 seconds in the 400m.

Daniel comes from Napapar Village in East New Britain. He got into athletics after a friend invited him for a training session at the Sir John Guise Stadium. After that fateful day, Daniel is now one of PNG’s top sprinters.

This follows the receipt of approval from the Provincial Administration in Kimbe.

Sports director, Conrad Golumu, is now liaising with Athletics PNG for the conduct of the event through the venue management team led by Nolene Pidik.

Neeraj Chopra of India took home the gold medal in the men’s javelin throw here at the Tokyo 2020 (in 2021) Olympic Games with a best effort of 87.58m on the final day of throws at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.

In his Olympic debut, Chopra became only the second Indian man to claim an Olympic medal in athletics, after Norman Pritchard took the men's 200m (silver) and 200m hurdles (silver) in 1900.

Italy continued its summer of incredible sporting success by clinching gold in the men’s 4x100m relay at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

It was the country’s first-ever victory in the men’s relay and brings the total number of medals won by Italy so far at this Olympics to 38 – placing it seventh in the medals table, the highest among countries from mainland Europe.

“This is an historic record, we don’t want it to stop,” said Giovanni Malagò, the president of the Italian Olympic Committee.

There was no need for Shaunae Miller-Uibo to dive at the line winning her second consecutive 400m Olympic gold medal by a comfortable margin at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.

Five years ago, Miller-Uibo made headlines when she dove at the line to edge U.S. legend Allyson Felix by 0.07 to claim her maiden title.