Iguel runs personal best in Poland

Jesus Iguel of the CNMI ran a personal best when he competed in the 100m event of the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships which kicked off yesterday in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Running in the first heat at Lane 9, the 19-year-old Kagman High School student ran the men’s century dash in 11.71 to break the 11.82 he registered during the recent 2008 Oceania Grand Prix held here on Saipan.

He had a reaction time of 0.194 in the World Junior Championships

Iguel previously ran the 100m in 11.5 during the McDonald’s All-Schools Meet last month, but that was using a hand timer.

Sixteen other athletes from the Oceania region, including those from New Zealand and Australia, also saw action in Day 1 of the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships.

Of the 16, three athletes managed to qualify for the finals—David Ambler of New Zealand, Kurt Mulcahy, and Melissa Breen, both of Australia.

Ambler advanced to the semis of the 100m after running it in 10.58. Mulcahy, for his part, finished the 400m with a time of 47.35. Breen crossed the finish line of the women’s century dash in 11.66.

Other Oceania athletes who ran the men’s 100m were Kiribati’s Tim Natua (11.88), Cook Islands’ Gordon Heather (11.57), French Polynesia’s Thomas Slowinski (11.42), Vanuatu’s Emile Nisap (11.64), Solomon Islands’ Alfred Adison (11.19), Norfolk Island’s Dayne O’Hara (12.03), and American Samoa’s Jeffrey Tago (13.18).

Dana Thoma of Nauru and Shirley Vunatup of Papua New Guinea also took part in the 100m heats for women and ran the sprint in an identical time of 13.8—both personal bests.

Fiji’s Isoa Me ran the men’s 400m and finished in 49.4, while Andrew Peska and Andrew Welch, both of Australia, participated in the discus and threw distances of 52.29m and 52.88m, respectively.

New Zealand’s Sarah McSweeney also competed in the 3000m steeplechase and negotiated the course in 10.44.07.

Other members of the Oceania team to the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships are Palau’s Douglas Schmidt, Guam’s Kenneth Karosich, and Tonga’s Paseka Fangupo.

The Oceania team to the 12th IAAF World Junior Championships will have Janelle Eldridge of Australia serving as manager and two federations have sent accompanying coaches—Jone Delai of Fiji and Jay Antonio of Guam.