Rellie Kaputin took a huge leap towards securing the single place available for PNG in the Athletic competition in the Tokyo Olympics with a seasons best long jump of 6.42 metres in her second attempt at the Festival of Athletics in Townsville on Saturday.
Townsville was the scene of her greatest triumph in June 2019 where, in her sixth and final jump at the Oceania Championships, Kaputin leapt 6.50m to snatch the gold medal from Brooke Stratton of Australia .
Coach Phillip Newton reported that things looked good on Saturday for Kaputin to improve on her mark of 6.42m as both her first and third jumps were also over 6.30m and all three jumps were all from well behind the take off board.
However Rellie felt a slight twinge in her hamstring and passed on her last three attempts rather than risk aggravating it further. A final decision on who will be PNG’s representative in Athletics in Tokyo will be announced no later than 1 July which is shortly after the close of the official qualifying period.