Trio immortalised

A MULTI-SPORT athlete, Papua New Guinea’s first Commonwealth Games gold medallist and the country’s first sportsperson to win a Pacific Games medal in weightlifting were immortalised on Thursday.
Iammo Gapi Launa, Geua Vada Tau and the late Sibona Oka were honoured at the fifth PNG Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which was sponsored by The National.
They are the latest to be inducted into an exclusive club of sporting legends whose accomplishments are some of PNG’s greatest sporting moments.
Sports Vice-Minister Wesley Raminai congratulated the inductees and thanked them for their part in shaping the country’s history.
Also in attendance were PNG Olympic Committee (PNGOC) president Sir John Dawanincura, board members, PNG Sports Foundation, families and friends.
“Thank you for pursuing your respective paths and being an example of what our country can achieve,” Raminai said.
“Your contributions have enriched our nation and allowed Papua New Guineans to be proud of whom we are. Your contributions have provided inspiration for your fellow citizens to excel.”
Launa was an all-round athlete who competed in athletics, netball, volleyball and basketball.
She was the captain of the PNG national volleyball and netball teams and is known to be the only athlete to compete in two different sports at a Pacific Games.
This was in 1995 at the Tahiti Games where she competed in athletics and netball.
While Launa competed for PNG at all levels, including the world championships, Pacific Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, many of her records in athletics still stand.
Launa attributed her abilities to her childhood in the village and the support of her school teachers and coaches who encouraged her to try different things. “One day, my grandchildren will see my photos and stories and be proud of my achievement,” she said.
Tau, Launa’s Team PNG teammate to the 1990 Commonwealth Games, also participated in various sports before becoming a household name in lawn bowls.
It was in Auckland, New Zealand, that Tau became the first PNG athlete to win gold at the Commonwealth Games.
Tau was a dominant force on the lawn bowls scene from 1981 when she started till her last international competition at the 19th Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
Oka, the lone male inductee in this year’s ceremony, was a weightlifting sensation who shot to the top of his game when he made the national team after training for less than a year.
His first weightlifting competition was at the 1969 South Pacific Games at Murray Barracks in Port Moresby. Oka won silver behind a Tahitian competitor.
The silver medal was the first Pacific Games medal for a PNG weightlifter. Oka also became the first athlete to lift at the Pacific Games since it was the first time for the sport to be included. Four years later, he beat the Tahitian for gold and made history again as the first Papua New Guinean person to win Pacific Games gold in weightlifting. He again won gold at the 1980 Pacific Games.
Oka passed away in 2010 and was represented by his wife, Kema, at the ceremony. She remembered him as a loving and kind man but serious about weightlifting.
“He worked hard. He developed his own training methods and equipment to help him get better in his game,” she said.
The three join 14 others in the Sports Hall of Fame who shall be remembered as PNG’s all-time sporting greats. The PNG Sports Hall of Fame is a PNGOC initiative to recognise individuals who have contributed significantly through their achievements in sports in PNG.