Jauhari gets feet off pedals, on to the fast track

Musthofid , The Jakarta Post , Samarinda, East Kalimantan | Fri, 07/11/2008 10:12 AM | Sports

JAUHARI JOHAN: (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

The National Games (PON) has been very kind to Jauhari Johan, who won a bronze medal on his first trip before going on to greater success in a different sport.

In his 2000 debut, Jauhari competed as a cyclist before reverting to the track, where he earned two golds for South Sumatra on each of his trips, in 2004 and 2008.

This was redemption for the young athlete, who failed to even qualify in the 1999 trials. Disappointed, but not without hope at the time, he looked elsewhere to fulfill his dream of going to the 2000 Games.

"My father told me to try cycling," Jauhari recalled while waiting for a drug test at the Palaran sports complex. By then, he was used to training for both running and cycling competitions, saying he had two months to prepare. Jauhari has also competed in local swimming events.

When he qualified as a cyclist in 2000, he proved it was no fluke as he helped the road race team bring home the bronze from the PON in Surabaya.

After Surabaya, he refocused on track and field and went on to win a gold medal. He has also been chosen to participate in international competitions, though his mettle has not been tested against regional peers.

He nearly rose to the podium again at the Southeast Asian Games held in Vietnam in 2003, then failed to make it to the 2005 Games, having been eliminated by Yahuza and Agus Prayogo.

At the Palaran track and field event this year, Jauhari's two rivals languished behind him.

On Thursday, Jauhari finished first in the 10,000 meter competition with a time of 31:57.38. Yahuza, competing for East Kalimantan, came in at 32:01.28, nearly ten meters behind, while Central Java's Agus had to be content with third place at 32:03.43.

In Tuesday's 5,000 meters, Agus failed to finish in the top three, while Yahuza came in second, behind Jauhari, who warmed up for Samarinda's events by winning June's Jakarta 10K.

Jauhari will go for a hat trick when he competes in the 1,500 meters on Friday, though he said the wins in hand have already met his expectations.