Closer To Rio Maholtra, Figure Of Paspampres Who Broke The Athletic Record

Rio Maholtra (Instagram @saltmantis)

JAKARTA - His posture is tall, muscular, and sturdy like a soldier, contrasting his wide smile when he is on the medal podium at the Papua National Sports Week (PON).

He is Rio Maholtra, an athlete in athletics who won the gold medal for the 110-meter men's goal which was held at Mimika Sport Complex, Mimika, Papua.

During the medal presentation, which will be carried out by Lt. Gen. TNI (Ret.) Hinsa Siburian as the supervisor of the Executive Board of the All-Indonesia Athletics Association (PB PASI), Rio immediately showed a ready position, raised his hand, and saluted.

Launching Antara, it turns out that Rio is indeed a member of the TNI. Not kidding, the man who was born in Lahat, South Sumatra, December 28, 1993 was listed as the Presidential Security Forces (Paspampres).

At the Papua PON, Rio not only won gold, but also managed to break the PON record that was printed by Edi Zakaria for the 110-meter men's goal.

Rio recorded a time of 14.11 seconds, surpassing Edi Zakaria's record time of PON 2004, which was 14.16 seconds.

However, the national record is still held by Rio with a record time of 14.02 seconds which he scored in the 2018 Asian Games semifinals in Jakarta-Palembang, Indonesia.

The gold medal that Rio got also added to the gold collection of the South Sumatra Province at the Papua PON, after obtaining gold in the gymnastics and fencing branches.

Currently, South Sumatra is currently ranked 17th in the Papua PON medal standings with three gold, one silver, and five bronze medals.

Rio is grateful to be able to meet the target given by his provincial government at PON Papua, as well as proud to be able to break the existing record.

"I can, in other words, complete the task, because the province (South Sumatra) is targeting to win gold and I have completed it today. Alhamdulillah," said Rio gratefully.

Competition experience

Rio started his professional career as an athlete at the 2009 National Championships and began to enter the ranks of the athletics training athletes at the age of 16.

It was also athletics that brought Rio into the army, when he was participating in the 2012 PON in Riau, an army colonel was visited and offered military education because of his talent.

He also underwent military education until finally being assigned to the elite troops guarding the President. However, that did not prevent him from continuing to excel in athletics.

It turns out, Rio is a hurdles specialist, as can be seen from the series of medals he won, such as the 2016 PON gold medal in West Java, the 2019 National Athletics Championships, and the 2018 Korea Open.

Not enough, Rio also set a national record at the World Indoor Athletic Championships in England in 2018, the 2017 Asian Athletic Championships in India, and the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore.

Rio has also represented Indonesia at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championship in Birmingham, England, becoming a finalist at the 2018 Wuhan World Military Games and 2018 Asian Games.

All of them, produced by Rio in the hurdles sport or also known as obstacle race, as well as proving the special ability of the 180 cm tall owner.

So, it is not wrong if the South Sumatra Provincial Government gives the responsibility to the second child of three brothers to win the gold medal from the hurdles at the Papua National Sports Week.

In this year's PON, South Sumatra dispatched 102 athletes, 48 coaches, and 13 committee members for 24 sports that were participated.

The hope is that South Sumatra will be boosted in the medal standings from previously ranked 21 in the 2016 PON with six gold medals, 11 silver medals, and 14 bronze medals.

Got nervous

Apparently, the achievements of a series of achievements do not guarantee that athletes in Rio's class are free from feeling nervous and lacking in confidence when preparing for matches, including the Papua PON.

Rio said that this year's PON was the competition that made him the most nervous out of the many matches he had participated in.

The feeling is not without reason, Rio said for the last two years there was no championship and had to undergo training independently.

"Because two years without a championship, two years without a coach is the term. After that, I practice outside the team. So, in other words, I am a wild athlete," he said.

However, Rio is still enthusiastic about undergoing preparations to compete in the four-year sporting event, including by maintaining a pattern and food intake.

Not to forget, Rio always prays that God will make it easier for him to win a medal in the number he is participating in, in addition to personal preparation and training.

Now, Rio, who is also married to the athlete, can reap the results of his two-year struggle to train independently with the success of winning a gold medal in his flagship number.

While the silver medal was won by Hirzan Rahmadon from Riau with a time of 14.33 seconds and the bronze medal was won by Ghanes Bagus Pandega from East Java with a time of 14.41 seconds.

The bonus for the Papua PON gold-winning athletes promised by the Governor of South Sumatra Herman Deru, namely Rp300 million, was waiting for Rio.

The promised bonus value is greater than the previously announced nominal, which is Rp200 million for each gold medal-winning athlete.

What is certain is that the results will not betray the maximum effort that has been made. Maybe that's the right words to describe Rio's persistent struggle to finally be able to excel in donating medals.