The achievements of Indonesian paralympic athletes continue to grow. After Ni Nengah Widiasih, now proud news comes from the athletic athlete Saptoyogo Purnomo. He was able to bring home a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Friday (27/8/2021).

Purnomo was able to finish third in the men's 100 meters final T37 with a record of 11.31 seconds. T37 is a sports disability classification for athletes with disabilities in the track and jump arena, includes people who have coordination disorders such as hypertonia, ataxia, and athetosis.

For Purnomo, this result exceeded his target. He only targets to be able to improve personal time records. But in the end, he surpassed the mark by finishing in the top three.

This result is getting better because Purnomo's time is a record for Asia. Achievements are the result of hard training.

 

 

 

 

 

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“This bronze medal was a surprise at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. At first I was only targeted to break a personal record. But I am grateful to be able to get a bronze medal,” said Purnomo after the race.

The 23-year-old athlete had to admit the superiority of Andrei Vdovin from ROC, who got a silver medal with a time of 11.18 seconds. Nick Mayhugh won the gold medal from the United States with a time of 10.95 seconds.

Purnomo's journey to the final needed to go through several stages. He managed to be the best in heat 1 with 11.33 seconds—his best record in the sprint track.

Purnomo's success has also received attention from President Joko Widodo. He congratulated Purnomo on his success at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.

“Congratulations to Saptoyogo Purnomo. Indonesia added one medal from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, this Friday afternoon. Saptoyogo Purnomo, the athlete who competed in the men's 100-meter T37 event, won a bronze medal with a time of 11.31 seconds," Widodo said on his social media account.

Purnomo is an accomplished athlete. He won gold at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta in 2018 and became the best athlete in the 100-meter T37 event with 11.49 seconds. At the 2016 National Paralympic Week in Bandung, Purnomo won gold.

 

 

 

 

 

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Purnomo suffers from cerebral palsy, a disorder in movement, muscles, or posture. The young man from Banyumas, Central Java, has weakness in his right hand and foot, making his hand movements look stiff and not as flexible as other people.

The condition that had made him ridiculed by his peers as a child did not discourage him from achieving. At the age of 16, when he was in grade 1 of a vocational high school, he practiced sprinting and brought his name to a national training center level.

A man who was born on September 17, 1998, continues to present achievements in various national and international championships.

Here is the list of the achievement:

Peparnas Bandung 2016 (5 gold)
ASEAN Para Games Malaysia 2017 (2 gold and 1 silver)
Asian Youth Para Games 2017 Dubai (2 silver)
World Para Athletics in China 2018 (1 gold)
2018 Asian Para Games (2 gold)
Tokyo Paralympics 2020 (1 bronze)