Indonesian jumper Londa eyeing Olympic mark

By Patrick Johnston SINGAPORE (Reuters) - While the tourists bask on Bali's famed beaches, Indonesian long jumper Maria Natalia Londa ploughs through her training sessions on the white sand hoping the hard work will take her to another picturesque seaside spot. The 24-year-old Balinese jumper is desperate to make it to Rio de Janeiro and compete at the 2016 Olympics. Londa knows she can qualify by capturing the Southeast Asian Games SEA Games record of six metres 71 centimetres when she defends her title in Singapore next month, the distance one centimetre longer than the Olympic 'A' qualifying mark. Two years ago in Myanmar, she landed a jump of 6.39m to win SEA Games gold and last September, she leapt a personal best of 6.55m to win the Asian Games title in Incheon, South Korea. It was Indonesia's first athletics gold in the quadrennial event for 16 years. The Olympic qualifying mark may seem a tall order but Londa believes it is within reach having focussed her attentions on the discipline after relegating her triple jump responsibilities. "Triple jump was the focus in the last SEA Games. Hopefully this year I can achieve my goal to break the long jump record," she told Channel NewsAsia earlier this month. "Train harder, more discipline and pray; believe that I can qualify for next year's Olympic." Londa is likely to face competition from Vietnamese jumper Thi Thu Thao Bui, who won silver at the Asian Games, and Filipina Marestella Torres, the current SEA Games record holder, at the National Stadium in Singapore on June 10. Torres, 34, produced a jump of 6.53m to win a meet in Taiwan earlier this month. Londa, who also won the SEA Games triple jump in Myanmar two years ago, is unlikely to be concerned. Her long-time coach I Ketut Pageh noticed the athlete's steely determination from a young age. "Maria was always at my training sessions," the coach said of the then 10-year-old. "She was small, had a runny nose and a little distended. She caught my attention because she was at my training session every day right till the end." Ketut has steered his charge to all domestic long jump and triple jump titles after long hours spent honing skills on the tourist-filled beaches in Kuta. Her coach believes his athlete is coming into her pomp and that the Olympics are a realistic goal. "Maria is now reaching her maximum performance, beginning to peak. But we can still improve her performance if the athlete is motivated to be a champion. I believe Maria still has that in her." (Editing by John O'Brien)