Tau John Tokwepota – King of the Roads

Tauvau John Tokwepota was born on 25th June 1956 in Kavataria Village, Losuia, Kiriwina Island. He did his schooling in the Trobriand Islands and the provincial capital of Alotau, before going to Goroka Tech and then UNITECH in Lae, where he studied surveying. From UNITECH he spent three months in Bendigo in Victoria where he studied Photogrammetry. During his working life he has had positions with the Department of Works and the National Mapping Bureau.

TJ always loved running, but it was at Cameron High School in Milne Bay Province, that he first had a structured running programme. Liker many Kenyan athletes, he would regularly run to and from school. It built very good stamina. At school he had great success, and he had a particular love of cross country running.

When Tau John reached Goroka his road running and cross country participation continued, this time aided by the altitude, which gave him added aerobic capacity. Once he arrived in Goroka, a significant Athletics centre, he became well known and was soon noticed by the national selectors. He was greatly encouraged by the late Goa Koite, and NSI’s Tom Brandt.

Tau John Tokwepota had a long and distinguished career as one of the two outstanding PNG long distance runners. He shares the crown with the late John Kokinai, who excelled over the shorter distances 1500m to 5000m, while TJ was in a class of his own over the 10000m and the Marathon.

Tau John first hit the national scene in 1975 when he filled the minor places behind the Pacific Islands’ #1 distance runner – John Kokinai. It was a promising start for the newcomer.

The following year Tau John defeated John Kokinai in the National Cross Country Championships in Madang, but continued to trail behind the Bougainvillean in the 5000m and 10000m. It was enough, however, to get him selected to join two other of our athletes to compete on the biggest stage of all.

In 1976, the year after PNG’s Independence, we participated in our first Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada. We had a small elite team of Wavala Kali (flag bearer) and our distance duo of John Kokinai and Tau John Tokwepota. TJ competed in the 10000m and the Marathon.

That same year Tau John ran a stunning National Record in the 10000m in Lae. The time of 31:21.4 is still the NR today, and the current runners are 2 minutes adrift.

The 1970’s and 1980’s were truly golden years for men’s distance running.

With John Kokinai departing from the scene, Tau John was now our leading distance runner, and in the National Championships in Madang, he won the 1500m, 5000m, 10000m and 3000m Steeplechase.

In 1978 another strong distance runner emerged – Batum Makon. In the Nationals of that year Tau John and Batum traded first places in their respective events. They were well matched. A trip to the Australian National Championships in Brisbane that year saw Tau John compete in the 5000m and the Steeplechase.

In 1979 the South were held, for the second time, in Suva, . Tau John had won the PNG Nationals in the 5000m and 10000m events, and in Suva won bronze medals in the 5000m and the Marathon.

Alain Lazare of ruled supreme at this time. All of the distance runners in the Pacific knew that they were running for minor medals when Alain turned-up at the track. In his career he won 18 gold medals in SPG competition and an additional 6 gold in Mini Games competition. He retired after winning the 10000m event in the Sir John Guise Stadium at the beginning of the Athletics Programme in the 1991 Games. He got a standing ovation from the knowledgeable crowd.

In 1980 Tau John broke another National Record, this time in the Marathon. His time of 2:28:13 was set in the iconic Honolulu Marathon, in the US state of Hawaii. This record is unlikely to be broken in the forseeable future as PNG distance runners no longer attempt the Marathon, preferring to prepare for the less demanding Half Marathon. The Marathon has also been dropped from the Pacific Games programme.

On the basis of the Honolulu Marathon in 1980, and a good run in the Port Moresby Marathon, Tau John was selected to be part of the small, but very successful, team to the Inaugural Mini Games in Honiara, the . TJ was our flag bearer and he competed in the Steeplechase, 10000m and the Marathon. He won two silver medals behind Alain Lazare and another one behind Fiji’s Shiri “Mushroom” Chand.

For the next four years Tau John reigned supreme on the domestic front. It was a privilege to watch him in action. In the 1984 Nationals in Goroka, all of the coastal athletes had been warned not to go out too hard, as the high altitude would make breathing difficult in the latter stages of the race. The oxygen debt would be too great. Tau John had, however, trained his body to handle this. From the gun he took off like a rocket, built up a huge lead in the first lap, and then it was just a matter of by how far he would win. And win he did. All of the other runners were in awe of him. On the local scene he was unbeatable. During these four years he won eight national titles in events from the 1500m to the 10000m.

On the international scene he competed in the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane (in the 10000m and Marathon); the 1983 SPG in Apia, (3000m Steeplechase, 5000m and 10000m for 2 bronze medals) and the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles (competing in the 5000m, 10000m and Marathon). His time in Los Angeles for the 10000m was his second fastest ever - 31:29.14. In the Pacific Islands only Alain Lazare has ever run faster over the 10000m distance.

His crowning glory came in the 1985 Mini Games on the Island of Rarotonga in the . There Tau John won gold in the 5000m and 10000m events, and silver in the Marathon. Tom Brandt, who was coach for this team heaped much praise on the shoulders of Tau John for his exploits in the Mini Games. After running the Marathon in the excellent time of 2:38:51 on the 8th August, he backed-up again the next day to run in the final of the 1500m, returning a very good time of 4:12.83, only 2 seconds off his personal best.

To quote Tom Brandt…. “I just find that almost unbelievable to be able to run 4:12 for 1500 after a 2:38 marathon. I could hardly walk after my 2:36 marathon. It has to say something about his capabilities as a distance runner”.

After a long and illustrious career in the sport, Tau John decided to return to another favourite sport – . It was a fateful decision, and left us all wondering how much more he had to offer Athletics and his country had he stayed as our undisputed #1 distance runner.

He still holds the National Records for the 10000m (31:21.4 in 1976) and the Marathon (2:28:13 in 1980), and is highly ranked in the 1500m (4:10.6 in 1985), 3000m (8:53.8 in 1984) and the 5000m (15:22.2 in 1983).

One of the main contributing factors in Tau John’s success as a runner has been his excellent pace judgement. This is something that the modern day runners need to develop. A meeting with the famed New Zealand coach, Arthur Lydiard, gave TJ much self-belief, a quality needed by any successful sportsman.

Tau John has run six of the ten fastest 10000m races in PNG history. He also holds four of the top six Marathon times. His 10000m and Marathon personal best performances would have been good enough to win every South Pacific Games gold medal except in 1987, which were won (of course) by Alain Lazare in front of his home crowd in Nouméa.

In sporting circles the debate continues as to who has been PNG’s greater long distance runner - John Kokinai in the shorter distances (5000m and 3000m Steeplechase) or Tau John Towepota in the longer distances (10000m and the Marathon). We are lucky to have had them both.

In the 1991 South Pacific Games Tau John was an official for the Athletics competition in the Sir John Guise Stadium. It was a fitting tribute to Tau John that he was part of the medal ceremony for the Men’s Half Marathon during the 2015 Games. He was able to present the gold medal to the PNG winner - Kupsy Bisamo - on the final day of the Games.

Today Tau John lives in Port Moresby with his wife, Maureen, and surrounded by his four sons and grandchildren.

His biggest sporting thrill was to be part of PNG’s first ever Olympic Team with his friends John Kokinai and Wavala Kali. They were significant trail-blazers for their nation. His participation in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics comes a close second in his list of prized memories.

Tau John Tokwepota started his successful Athletics career in 1975 at the dawn of PNG’s Independence. Now 40 years later, as we celebrate this significant national milestone, we have not forgotten his contribution to the Nation.

Tauvau John Tokwepota truly was King of the Roads.