By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE NMI will be represented in the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival with Northern Marianas Athletics’ Jacque Wonenberg joining a relay race in the multi-sport meet.
According to NMA secretary general Robin Sapong, Wonenberg was among the athletes from Oceania chosen to compete in the Australian meet after her impressive performance in the 2006 Oceania 18-and-under and Open Athletics Championships in Apia, Samoa last month.
Wonenberg won the girls’ cross country race and also showed impressive runs in the 100m events.
In the Australian Youth Olympics, Wonenberg will be participating in the 4x400m relay race.
Sapong added that another NMI athlete will be joining Wonenberg in Australia.
“I received an email from Oceania Athletics Association’s Yvonne Mullins yesterday and she told me we can field one more athlete in the Australian Olympics,” said Sapong, who was expected to meet with the NMA board yesterday evening or this morning to discuss the good news and choose the second NMI athlete for the Australian meet.
The Australian Youth Olympics will be held in Sydney from Jan. 17 to 21.
It will feature athletes in the 13 to 19 year old age group and will have competitions in 16 sports.
Twenty-three countries are invited to join the five-day meet, which will have 190 events and will award 1299 medals.
Aside from athletics, other events in the Australian Olympics are badminton, canoe/kayak racing, diving, figure skating, football, gymnastics, hockey, rowing, sailing, shooting, short track speed skating, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo.
“It’s the closest thing to the Olympics. Our young athletes will have the opportunity to compete in a big tournament. This will give them the chance to develop their skills, as one way to get better is to compete in a high-level tournament,” Sapong said.
The Australian Olympics were first held in 2001 to discover future Olympic champions and provide participants with an environment similar to that of the Olympic Games and promote the Olympic ideals of fair play, honesty and pride.
The multi-sports meet will be held in the same venues at which the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games took place.