Result from the Qualification Round.
For several Championships now the IAAF has arranged a Qualification Round for the less able athletes to have a competition at their level and thus qualify for the right to participate in the Heats. Thus today (Saturday Aug. 22) in Beijing there were three races for these athletes in the M100m.
In Heat 1 the winner was the outstanding Ratu Tabakaucoro from Fiji in 10.50 - a time of which KAA athletes can only dream ! He has qualified for the Heats - one of the few from Oceania. Also competing were males from Tonga (11.08) and Nauru (11.81). In Heat 2 the Palau athlete placed 2nd. in 10.71 - another outstanding time for Oceania - followed by Vanuatu 4th. in 11.17, Tahiti 5th. in 11.29, Tuvalu 6th. in 11.72, and Kimwaua 7th. in 11.98. In the third race, Solomons finished 9th. in 11.58.
The slowest qualifier from Preliminaries to actual Heats ran 10.92 !
So the lesson is clear once again. If KAA male sprinters are to be competitive in any competitions they need to be sub-11 seconds for 100m. OK so Kimwaua is only just 18, but coaches and athletes in Kiribati need to have higher expectations and targets.
Image of Kimwaua finishing in the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Trials in Sydney March 2013.
Image of Kimwaua at RKU National Stadium in February 2016 (after training).
Comment.
Since Athletics in Kiribati is still largely school-based, it is essential for school coaches and KAA officials to organise training which is demanding enough to produce athletes not just good enough to win at the annual KISSAC competition but to be capable of success on a bigger stage. It is to be hoped that this lesson is learned before they are left behind even in Micronesia !
Last Modified on 02/06/2016 22:24