MAE KOIME - Athletics Profile Following the World Athletics Day in 2001, Mae Koime was selected as part of a small international group of young athletes to attend the World Championships in Athletics in Edmonton, Canada. They were to be the guests of the I.A.A.F. She had a VIP pass to watch the very best athletes in the world compete against each other and record fantastic performances. From then on Mae’s heart was set on doing the best that she could in the sport to represent and actually compete at these big global meetings. She had already tasted international travel the year before when she competed in the Oceania Championships in Adelaide, just before the Sydney Olympic Games, but her appetite for greater things was now beginning to emerge. Over the next decade Mae had the chance to compete in some of the great stadiums in the world. In 2002 she had the opportunity to travel to the “Home of Sprinting” – Kingston Jamaica – to compete in the World Junior Championships, where she qualified for the semi-final of the 100m event. The following year it was to Paris for the World Championships, and then in 2004 to the birthplace of the Ancient and Modern Olympic Games - Athens, Greece where Mae competed in the 100m event. 2005 saw her participate in the World Championships in Helsinki Finland, and in 2006 it was closer to home with the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne at the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground. In Melbourne she progressed to the 2nd round of the 100m and joined the other PNG sprinters to finish fifth in the 4 x 400m Relay. Mae was the PNG flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony. In 2007 Mae competed in the World Championships in Osaka, Japan, running in the 100m. Still in Asia, she was lucky enough to compete in the “Birds’ Nest” Stadium in Beijing for her second Olympic Games. The World Championships will be held once again in that stadium in August 2015. Throughout all of this globetrotting Mae was also kept busy closer to home with many Oceania Championships and the all-important South Pacific Games and Mini Games. A roll call of events follows - 2001 - Melanesian Championships in Suva (100m gold medal) 2001 - Oceania Grand Prix in New Zealand and on Norfolk Island 2001 - Mini South Pacific Games on Norfolk Island 2002 - Oceania Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand (400m Hurdles gold) 2003 - Oceania Cup in Apia, Samoa (gold in the 100m) 2003 - South Pacific Games in Suva 2004 - Oceania Championships in Townsville (gold in the 100m and 200m) 2005 - Mini South Pacific Games in Palau where she won the sprint treble 2006 - Oceania Grand Prix in Fiji and Samoa. Mae was the overall winner of the women’s division 2006 - Oceania Championships in Apia, Samoa (gold in the 100m) 2007 - Oceania Championships in Cairns 2007 - South Pacific Games in Suva (gold medals in both the relays and silver medals in the 100m and 200m events) 2008 - Oceania Championships in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands (gold in the 100m and 200m) 2010 - Oceania Championships in Cairns. As well as her international and regional success, Mae also won many national titles back home. First success came in 1999 with gold medals in the 100m and 200m in the U17 Division. Gold medals also followed in the 100m and/or the 200m in the following years – 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007 & 2009. After a decade in the sport Mae now took a back and passed the baton to the new PNG Sprint Queen, Toea Wisil. Mae’s legacy is still with us, however. That fantastic 11.37 seconds 100m that she ran in the Australian National Championship is still the PNG National Record and the fastest ever time recorded by a Pacific Islands’ Athlete. On the All-Time Best Lists Mae still ranks very highly in many events - 60m 7.48 seconds 2nd 100m 11.37 seconds 1st National Record and South Pacific Best 150m 18.34 seconds 1st National Record 200m 23.71 seconds 2nd 300m 38.54 seconds 1st National Record 400m 56.06 seconds 6th - plus she shares the National Record (45.99 seconds) for the 4 x 100m Relay record set at the 2007 South Pacific Games in Apia. It is a famous victory for PNG over the highly fancied Fiji Team and it was shown regularly on television here as part of the promotion for the 2015 Pacific Games. Mae is yet another of our great former athletes who have enriched our sporting history. .