Athletics: Hammer throw reign comes crashing

KUCHING: Sarawak’s reign in the women’s hammer throw event has come to an end, missing the services of Grace Wong Xiu Mei, who once dominated in four SUKMA events in the hammer throw.

In the women’s hammer throw event, Sarawak only managed to secure a bronze through Alena Thipong, who was initially expected to win one of the seven golds that Sarawak had targeted to achieve in this SUKMA athletics competition.

Alena Thipong, who was predicted to win gold, only managed to secure a bronze instead. Alena fell short of winning gold as her throw measured 38.44m.

The gold medal was won by Nurul Aiyam of Selangor, who threw the furthest distance at 44.28m, while Nur Salsabila bt Mohd Samsairon came in second with a throw of 44.10m.

Sarawak’s other thrower, Carmen ChenHui Law, finished in fourth place with a throw of 35.30m.

However, Alena’s missed opportunity for a gold medal was compensated by the surprising victory of Pauline Ulun, who shocked the Sarawak camp by clinching an unexpected gold in the women’s discus event on the second day of the athletics competition.

Pauline, only 16 years old, an Orang Ulu from Long Bedian in Ulu Baram, threw 38.50m to outperform Farhana Isureen of Perak, who achieved a distance of 38.41m, while Alyssa from Selangor took the third position with a throw of 37.62m.