TEMPO.CO, Denpasar-Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi visited Bali to inspect the synthetic track of Mengwi athletic field, Badung District, Bali, that will be used by Indonesia’s long jump athlete Maria Londa to prepare for the upcoming 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August. The track is expected to be completed this week.

The minister said that he had suggested for Maria to train in Jakarta while waiting for the synthetic track in Bali to complete. However, the gold medalist of Asian Games 2014 has opted to train in Bali.

“I have asked PB PASI [Central Executive Board of Indonesian Athletic Association] to persuade Maria Londa to train in Jakarta, because the facilities are already in place. But it’s a choice, because here [in Bali] Londa not only trains herself to become a champion but also to be close with her parents,” he said in Denpasar, Sunday, June 19, 2016. “We respect that.”

Imam believed that despite limited facilities in the preparation ahead of the Olympics, the athlete born in October 29, 1990, will be able to give her best in the event. “She must have been dreaming of becoming the best, the most important thing is to try and fight. Whatever the result we should all support her,” he said.

Maria said that she is currently focusing on improving her weakness in every training session. “I’m still working on in-the-air techniques, before [the synthetic track is] completed,” said the athlete who idolizes Ivana Spanovic—a Seriban long jump athlete.

Maria Londa’s training program was hampered by her recovery time from knee injury. Having recoverd from the injury, she resumed her training. Her confidence has been boosted after she won a bronze medal in Singapore Open last May, with a distance of 6.34 meters in her long jump.

BRAM SETIAWAN