NINE Papua New Guinea athletes departed over the weekend to compete in the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championship in Darwin, Australia.

The athletics team consisting of Daniel Baul, Leroy Kamau, Robert Oa, Hephzibah Romalus, Timothy Tuna, Sialis Passingan, Damien Kote, Lucas Osida and Jiuteis Robinson departed with Coach Subul Babo.

They’ll be joined by Australian based athletes Pais Wisil, Lakona Gerega, Jack Mahuru and 17-year old sprinter Ethan Asimba and Coach Brett Green.

Athletics PNG Inc. president Tony Green said with the Youth Olympic Games coming up later this year, they considered sending two U18 athletes from Port Moresby to compete for international experience however did not fulfill that due to several factors.

“These tentative plans had to be shelved for a number of reasons, including funding constraints.”

“The team is much smaller than those that have attended some Oceania Championships in recent years, mainly due to cost factors.”

Green said in selecting the team, the priority was given to athletes aiming to qualify for this year’s Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

“Alternative competitions were being targeted for other athletes in the National Squad, especially the Philippine Open next month.”

 “We have a lot of young, developing athletes in the squad, many of whom are not ready to compete with the best Australian and New Zealand athletes, so it’s important to target competitions at the right level for them”.

Meanwhile Jiuteis Robinson will be one to watch in Darwin as he continues to make great strides in his development as an athlete.

The 21 year old from East New Britain made a big impression last year at the Palau Games and the Oceania Cup.

Running in a time trial in Lae last weekend he clocked an unofficial national record time of 3min 58.0 seconds in the 1500m and followed this up a few hours later with a 1min 52.9sec clocking in the 800m.

Timothy Tuna and Robert Oa have both showed good form in recent time trials and Pais Wisil is believed to have recovered from the injury that affected his performance at the Australian championships.

Daniel Baul and Leroy Kamau haven’t shown their best form in recent trials and it is hoped they will rise to the competition in Darwin.