Dual-sport athlete Leva set for Tokyo

The National Sports
Paralympian Nellie Leva warming up for barbell squats.

NELLIE Leva continues to be an inspirational leader and athlete in Papua New Guinea’s sporting circles as she prepares for her maiden Paralympic appearance in Tokyo, Japan.
Last year, the 32-year-old was part of a quartet who competed in the Victor Oceania Para Badminton Championships, becoming PNG’s first athletes to compete in an international badminton tournament.
They collected four medals and continued to inspire a legacy upon their return home.

From left: Paralympic javelin throwers Nellie Leva and Morea Mararos training at Sir John Guise Stadium.

Firstly, by supporting their association to deliver a food bank project as the global pandemic began to take hold last year. Secondly, by becoming qualified shuttle time teachers.
Mum-of-three Leva is a regular leader in PNG’s Inclusive GymBad programme, a combined badminton, shuttle time and gymnastics session which aims to remove barriers faced by those with disabilities.
The initiative is delivered in partnership with Badminton Oceania, Badminton PNG, Motivation Australia, Oceania Gymnastics Union, PNG Gymnastics and supported by the Australian Government as part of the Team Up programme.
On top of enjoying motherhood, competing in badminton, and delivering shuttle time and Inclusive GymBad sessions to communities, Leva is also an avid athletics competitor and has qualified for the javelin event of the Tokyo Paralympics.

“ As a role model to my community, I hope to inspire and motivate girls and people with disabilities to gain confidence, pick up a sport and attend the Inclusive GymBad programme.”
PNG Paralympic team member Nellie Leva warming up with some stretches.

She said she hoped to use her position as a leader and status as a Paralympian to inspire others.
“As a role model to my community, I hope to inspire and motivate girls and people with disabilities to gain confidence, pick up a sport and attend the Inclusive GymBad programme,” Leva said.
Her sporting prowess highlights the benefits of and transferrable skills between different disciplines and codes.
In Leva’s case, she is a left-arm amputee and classifies as a standing/upper limb impairment para badminton player, bringing particular attention to the importance of the rotating trunk and left shoulder to assist the overhead technique which is relevant to badminton and javelin.
Building on a study by Loughborough University which sheds light on the overhead smash, Badminton Oceania reached out to one of the academic contributors and previous international badminton player, Harley Towler, to see how the transferable skills of badminton relate to javelin.
“Research into the badminton smash has identified critical technique factors that also appear in much of the throwing literature,” he said.

Mum-of-three Nellie Leva performing seated medicine ball throws at Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.

“Much of the end-point speed (javelin or racket-head speed) can be attributed to the role of the trunk and shoulder, where being able to counter-rotate your trunk (twisting) more and achieve greater rotational speeds at the trunk and shoulder have been found to be linked to greater shuttlecock speed in the badminton smash.”
Similarly, Fiji’s Iosefo Rakesa is another example of a Para badminton player making waves on the athletics scene.
He became Fiji’s first representative at the 2018 Australia Para Badminton International and Victor Para Badminton Championships 2018.
Rakesa is also in contention for a medal in the javelin and shot put disciplines in Tokyo.
The Paralympic Games got underway yesterday with javelin starting on Friday.