Agus Prayogo trained professionally for the first time in 1995 and only got my first SEA Games gold in 2009. It means I needed 14 years to become competitive in Southeast Asia.
By
Adi Prinantyo
·6 minutes read
KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO
West Java runner Agus Prayogo when he finishes in the men's marathon race for the Papua PON (National Games) 2021 athletics at Kuala Kencana, PT Freeport Indonesia Area, Timika Regency, Papua, Saturday (9/10/2021). Agus won the gold medal with a time of 2 hours 33.09 minutes.
At the age of 36, no longer young for a professional athlete, runner Agus Prayogo grabbed three gold medals at the National Games (PON) Papua 2021 in the 5,000-meter, 10,000-meter and marathon.
In the grip of his obsession to break the national record for the men’s marathon held by the late Eduardus Nabunome, Agus Prayogo is yearning for the emergence of young runners to immediately catch up and regenerate Indonesia’s long-distance runners.
Over the course of his participation at the South East Asian (SEA) Games, Agus won six gold medals for Indonesia. Of these six SEA Games medals, he earned four from the 10,000-meter event at Vientiane 2009, Jakarta-Palembang 2011, Singapore 2015 and Kuala Lumpur 2017. The remaining two were from the 5,000 m event at Jakarta-Palembang 2011 and the marathon at Philippines 2019.
“I got my first gold medal at the SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos, in 2009. Thank God, I could still win the gold at the Philippines in 2019, ten years later. But I realize I am no longer young. Before I hang up my shoes, I want to see successors who can also compete at the international level,” said Agus on Saturday (6/11/2021).
Born in Bogor on 23 Aug. 1985, the athlete’s desire to find younger rivals grew even more intense when he won three to seize three long-distance gold medals at PON Papua 2021. For Agus, PON is the benchmark national competition.
He felt the keen absence of supporting runners at the SEA Games Kuala Lumpur 2017, where he competed alone in the 5,000 m, 10,000 m and the marathon. Only at Philippines 2019 did he meet Robby Sianturi, who competed with him in the 10,000 m, and Welman Pasaribu who ran in the marathon. Sadly, the runners were not able to emerge among the top three in these events, but Agus won gold in the marathon and silver in the 10,000 m.
KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO
West Java runner Agus Prayogo bites the gold medal he got from the men's 10,000 meter race in the Papua PON 2021 athletics at the Mimika Sports Complex Athletic Stadium, Timika, Mimika Regency, Papua, Tuesday (12/10/2021).
Agus had viewed with optimism the many races in the years prior to 2019, or before the pandemic, which he hoped could help mature long-distance runners. However, he recalled that the emergence of runners with national achievements, let alone international victories, involved a process.
“For instance, I trained professionally for the first time in 1995 and only got my first SEA Games gold in 2009. It means I needed 14 years to become competitive in Southeast Asia. For the Asian level, it demands a longer process, a more precise strategy,” he said.
I trained professionally for the first time in 1995 and only got my first SEA Games gold in 2009.
Agus came across the sport when he was just 10 years old and accidentally ended up in a race near his childhood home in Magelang, Central Java. Agus recalled that when he was in the fifth grade, there were seasonal games for children like marbles and kite flying.
“Several [other] children were also fond of running, because there was a running club near my house. On joining the club, there was a selection for an elementary school competition. I passed the selection process and represented my school in the 5K race, and I was the champion.”
His name was announced as the winner and he stepped out in front to be congratulated and received his trophy. He was elated. Thereafter, his sports teacher advised Agus to improve his skills in running. He followed this advice and starting training diligently at the local club.
As he grew more serious about the sport, Agus moved to Salatiga in junior high school to join the Locomotive running club, famed as the birthplace of the nation’s elite runners. In his early days at the club, he trained intensively with Ruwiyati, the elder sister of current national women’s long-distance runner Triyaningsih. Back then, Ruwiyati was a top Indonesian athlete at the SEA Games, and the Games’ record-holder for the women’s marathon with a time of scoring 2 hours, 34 minutes and 29 seconds.
Serving as a running partner to Ruwiyati, Agus reached his peak skills and performance until finally in 2001, he was selected to represent Indonesia at the ASEAN School Games in Thailand. The result? Agus contributed two gold medals from the 1,500 m and 5,000 m. Since then, he has consistently appeared at various competitions to represent his country.
KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO
West Java runner Agus Prayogo competes in the 10,000 meter men's athletics PON Papua 2021 at the Mimika Sports Complex Athletic Stadium, Timika, Mimika Regency, Papua, Tuesday (12/10/2021). Agus Prayogo won gold medal with a time of 31 minutes 6.35 seconds.
As for the formula behind his success as the reigning champion of long-distance running in Indonesia over the last decade, Agus said discipline was key. “On average, I run 100 to 150 kilometers every week, never below 100 kilometers,” he said.
Not long after PON Papua, he competed at the Pocari Sweat Run on 24 Oct. He is now preparing to compete at the upcoming Borobudur Marathon powered by Bank Jateng on 27-28 Nov.
He achieves his weekly distance by installments through the frequency of his daily training sessions. He feels the monotony of his life as an athlete as well as a soldier, so he observes strict self-discipline in maintaining his training, recovery and nutritional intake. “The three indeed constitute a key: training, recovery and nutrition,” he stressed.
For all his achievements, Agus feels proud that he was able to enhance Indonesia’s reputation on the international scene while raising his parents’ living standards. Today, Agus holds the national records for the 5,000 m at a time of 2:2:12 and the 10,000 m at 29:25:77.
Agus still has one dream left, which is to break Eduardus Nabunome’s national record of 2:19:00 in the men’s marathon. Agus’s personal best in the marathon is 2:21:09.
“After recording my personal best in the half marathon in July 2019 in the Gold Coast, Australia, I was actually ready to break the marathon national record. Most regrettably, the pandemic arrived in 2020 and all events were canceled,” he said.
He hopes that at the age of 36, he will be able to break Bang Edu’s record in the time he has left, noting that the average career of long-distance runners last until they are 40.
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