Athletics was one of four sports to have received an allocation in the first round of 2022 Games preparation funding from the PNG Olympic Committee after complying with all administrative requirements. Prima Smallgoods also made a huge contribution with food supplies for the athletes who were camped in Kimbe for almost two weeks. Thanks also to Oceania Athletics for their contribution in funding livestreaming of the event.
The standout athlete for the Men was Daniel Baul, who ran a blistering 47.1 seconds in his heat of the 400m. Daniel followed up this superb performance with a time of 47.5 in the final and showed his class again in the 200m with a confident late surge from way back to pass several athletes and claim the gold. The Men’s sprints saw many fine performances from the domestic athletes. It must be remembered however that many of the top PNG sprinters are at present studying in the USA.
Significant performances came from the middle and long distance men with George Yamak getting a personal best in the 1500m with a time of 4:02.1. Aquila Turalom was second with a significant personal best time of 4:04.9. As expected, the standout performance for the women came from Toea Wisil who won the 100m in the time of 11.5 seconds. Behind her came Edna Boafob (12.20) and Adrine Monagi (12.30). Patricia Kuku was the standout performer from the large WNB team
In the middle-distance events Scholastica Herman won both the 800m (2:28.0) and the 1500m (5:11.50). The most successful distance runner was Ongan Awa with convincing wins in the 5000m (20:17.9) and the 10000m (43:46.8). In the field events one of the outstanding performances came from the national record holder in the Javelin – Lakona Gerega. His winning throw of 61.78m was not far from his record of 64.89m.
Last Modified on 23/12/2021 14:15