Toti, Kamau putting Nest club on map

NATIONAL jumper and Nest Athletics Club member Eldan Toti is remaining upbeat despite the country’s Covid-19 challenges which have affected training under coach and legend Nelson Stone.
The 26-year-old and upcoming sprinter Leroy Kamau are products of former Olympian Stone’s brainchild, which is in contention for the SP Sports Awards’ national performance of the year honour.
Interestingly, Kamau – whose 200m time of 21.15 seconds at last year’s West New Britain athletics championships was the fastest by a Papua New Guinea athlete on home soil – is also a finalist for the honour.
The National is the official newspaper of the annual awards, which are an initiative of South Pacific Brewery in recognition of sporting achievements and investments in the country.
Toti described his training under Pacific Games sprint gold medallist Stone as positive despite the recent four-week national isolation strategy.
“Training has been great, but the lockdown made it a bit complicated,” he said.
“Stone and I are working on my jumps.
“I’m hoping for a spark in the coming competitions.”
The 26-year-old was only 22 when he was selected to be part of the Team National Capital District for the 2017 national championships in Lae.

That was his first time to represent the province in the high, triple and long jump.
His selection was not a fluke, according to Toti, as he was trained as a rookie jumper under Kokofa Athletics Club coach John Gitiri.
“In 2017, I was fortunate enough to compete in the national championships,” Toti said.
“Representing a province at the national level is my biggest achievement as I was only 22 then.”
Under coach Norman Tse, the Vunapalading man for the first time represented his native East New Britain in the 2018 national championships in Goroka, Eastern Highlands.
Toti was then identified by Athletics PNG for the 2019 Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville, Australia, and Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa.
He is now undergoing rehabilitation following a knee injury which he sustained while attempting to change his landing technique as advised by his coach in Australia in 2019.
“At the moment, I am working on my regular jumps due to the injury which had set me back on the Gold Coast,” Toti said.
“But I’m happy with Stone’s help.
“I am now trying to improve and continue working towards my goals.”
With his personal records in the long (7.15 metres), high (1.95m) and triple (14.27m) jumps, Toti remains an integral part in the continuation of Athletics PNG’s dominance in the Pacific.
He is aiming to leave a mark not only on athletics but youths as he aims to inspire others to believe in their abilities regardless of the paths they may take.
Toti encouraged youths who were interested in athletics to trust God and never give up in pursuing their goals.
“I am ready this year,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to bettering my long jump record on home soil.
“I’m also hopeful of making the Team PNG contingent for this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.”

Meanwhile, sprinter Kamau was given a huge boost when he was offered a chance to run against Trayvon Bromell at the University of California in the United States over the weekend.
Bromell has run 9.88 seconds this year which is the fastest in the world.
He is in scintillating form as he prepares for the US Olympic trials next month.
Upcoming Papua New Guinea athlete Kamau, who has not run many 100m races in his career, clocked a personal best of 10.75s.
He was in Los Angeles to compete in a different meet at another venue nearby and modified his schedule to compete in the race at Irvine.
The opportunity arose as the result of a couple of withdrawals and the meet organiser reached out to Athletics PNG through a mutual friend. The meet was broadcast live on ESPN.