Mararos soars

By PATRICIA KEAMO
PAPUA New Guinea para-athlete Morea Mararos set a new personal best yesterday on debut in the Tokyo Paralympics, making him the top Oceania para javelin thrower in the F34 class.
PNG Paralympic team chef de mission Susanne Sere said he would now most likely be in the world’s top-20 of his class.
Mararos competed in the seated javelin F34 class where he threw an area record (AR or continental record throw) of 21.11m in the finals, improving his previous 21.03m record and finishing 10th.
Now a paralympian, the 24-year-old was the only Pacific Islander to compete against experienced and older para-athletes, including current world record holder and gold medallist Saeid Afrooz, of Iran.
Mararos threw 16m at the 2019 World Paralympic Championships in Dubai.
This was his first Paralympic appearance, competing against some of the world’s best para-athletes, including his idol Mauricio Valencia, of Colombia, who won silver.
“I didn’t feel nervous taking the field, I was confident that would throw a good distance,” Mararos said.
“I trained hard and prepared well.”
A highlight of his experience was creating friendships with the world’s best Paralympians and coaches.
Mararos not only learned a lot from them but also impressed and earned their respect.
Mararos said he had gained a lot from this experience and was motivated to improve and represent the country at another Paralympics.
Despite finishing tenth, Mararos has set a new record for himself, PNG and the Oceania with more achievements expected on the international stage for a young athlete with an open mindset to succeed.