RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesian long-distance athletes are leveraging international competitions in East Asia to sharpen their skills and achieve personal milestones. Daniel Simanjuntak, Novia Nur Nirwani, and Irma Handayani posted competitive results at the Asian Cross Country Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, and the Daegu Marathon 2026 in South Korea, signaling strong momentum early in the 2026 season.

Indonesian Athletics Association (PASI) President Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan praised the athletes for adapting to cold weather and the challenging courses, noting that Daniel’s top 10 finish and the consistent performances of Novia and Irma reflect the effectiveness of international try-out programs in building experience and mental toughness.

“The results from Fukuoka and Daegu provide important benchmarks for evaluating our long-distance training programs. These achievements are made possible with full support from MIND ID, our main partner in national athletics development,” Luhut said in a statement, on Monday, February 23, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

At the Asian Cross Country Championships on February 21, Daniel finished eighth in the men’s 10 km race with a time of 31 minutes 32 seconds, marking a strong international debut. Novia placed 12th in the women’s 10 km with 37 minutes 40 seconds, also her first performance at the Asian level.

The momentum continued at the Daegu Marathon 2026 on February 22, where Irma recorded a personal best of 2 hours 56 minutes 01 second, finishing 16th in the Gold Label road race.

Participation in these events is part of PASI’s long-term strategy to prepare athletes for the 2026 international calendar, with technical data from competitions guiding future training and performance improvements. ***