Former British Olympian To Help In PNG Fundraiser

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STEVE Ovett, one of the world?s greatest middle distance runners ever to take to the track, will be guest speaker at a fundraising event for Papua New Guinean athletics next month.

The former British champion runner, who enjoyed Olympic glory in the 800m in the 1980 Games in Moscow, Russia, will visit Papua New Guinea to walk the world famous Kokoda Trail.

The walk is aimed at raising funds for the Bloomhill Cancer Help Centre on the Sunshine Coast in Australia. Ovett, 48 and now a sports consultant, journalist and TV commentator, moved to the Sunshine Coast last year.

When the PNG Athletics Union learned of Ovett?s forthcoming visit, secretary Tony Green contacted the PNG organisers to ask the former track star if he was willing to assist the sport which had made him an Olympic hero.

?The PNGAU is of course delighted to hear that Steve Ovett will be visiting Papua New Guinea and we are looking forward to meeting him,? Green said yesterday.
?Steve has kindly agreed to support our fundraising efforts by being our special guest at a dinner being organised to coincide with his visit to Port Moresby at the end of September.?

Green, from Great Britain, said Ovett was his hero. ?From a personal standpoint, I can say that Steve was my hero during the late 1970s and early 1980s during the golden era of British middle distance running when Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and later Steve Cram dominated the scene, breaking many world records.
?The rivalry between Coe and Ovett captivated the public to a degree never seen before or since in British athletics.?

Ovett had stood on the victory dais at the European, Commonwealth Games and World Cup during his career and was the world record holder in the 1500m at one stage.

The champion runner came at a time when Britain dominated the middle distance in the 1980s with Coe and Cram his main rivals. Their rivalry came to the fore at the 1980 Olympics when Ovett was considered the favourite for the 1500m and Coe expected to win the two-lap 800m event.

Ovett will be joined by four mates, including trek leader Richard Thompson, a cancer victim himself, on the Kokoda Trail to raise funds for the cause.

Source: Post Courier Sport Section – 13th August, 2003.

Editors Note: A big thank you must go out to Steve Ovett who will be our guest here in PNG during the month of September, for taking time out to speak at a function being organised in his honour.

Thanks must also go to Tony Green who lives in Goroka but is a huge fan of Steve and wants to do something to help PNG Athletics and to allow our sports people to meet someone they have only heard about from their coaches.

Thanks tupela ! and thanks to the organising committee here in Port Moresby for helping to make this event possible.
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