Toea Wisil and Theo Piniau will both represent PNG in athletics at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this August.
Piniau secured his spot as a result of his record breaking performance in the 200m last week after a long and very close battle with hurdles specialist Mowen Boino.
Boino, in a sporting gesture, was the first to congratulate the 23-year-old last week and has been a big help to Piniau during the lead up to the trials.
On a special note, coach Dior Lowry, who has been with the athletes in Florida, says the bond of friendship between the two goes far beyond athletics, and it is only on the track where there is evidence of competition.
Wisil is also confirmed in the team now that the PNG Olympic Committee qualifying period has come to an end and no other female athletes have come close to qualifying. That means that the one place available to PNG under the universality rule will be taken by Wisil.
However, Wisil’s 11.29 seconds time at the recent Melanesian Championships in Fiji gave her an edge as she is now qualified for the Olympics on merit, and can go straight into the first heat in Rio instead of running the preliminaries.
