Athletics PNG has selected three female athletes to participate in the Commonwealth Youth Games which will be held in Trinidad and Tobago in the first week of August. NSI based sprinter Judy Mitchel and Simbu middle distance runners Suaire Goiye and Christina Moiyang will travel with Coach Subul Babo as part of the Team PNG contingent to the Games. The athletes were nominated to the PNG Olympic committee earlier this year for consideration by the Justification Committee. Mitchel was outstanding at the 2022 PNG Air National Championships in Port Moresby where she won both the 100m and 200m in the Under 18 division despite being eligible for the U16 at that time. Moiyang who will turn 16 this week has already had a lot of experience at the National Level, starting in 2020 when as a 13 year old she won the 1500m in the under 16 division at the National championships,placed second to 2019 Pacific Game rep Monica Kalua in the U18 3000m and won the Open 5000m. Suaire Goiye who hails from Kerowagi and is the niece of 2019 Pacific Games Gold Medallist Miriam Goiye was identified only last year and impressed during the Junior distance training Camp at NSI in January. Goiye was nominated as a replacement for a male sprinter who had initially been recommended for the Games but was later found to be ineligible for under 18 competition this year. In the sport of Athletics , competitors must have their 16th or 17th birthday in 2023 to be eligible. The athletes will fly out to the Gold Coast with Coacg Babo next week for a lead up competition followed by a two week training camp before joining up with Team PNG on 01 August for the journey to Port of Spain , Trinidad.
