Nelson Stone

The school race day was held in place of the traditional school carnival, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The school’s alternate program incorporated social distancing, allowing students to compete in races safely in groups of less than 20 at a time, rather than compete in their sports groups.

LIS Principal, Gregory Neville, said the school was fortunate to have Nelson Stone, retired PNG 2012 Summer Olympian run training drills in preparation for the school’s race day.

After 11 months, sidelined from the track because of a hamstring injury, the 33-year-old Central Province man is confident he will make the times to qualify for the Mini Pacific Games in December.

“At 33 years of age, I am feeling younger and faster.”

Stone said he has short and long term goals, and will tick one box at a time.

The Commonwealth Games in 2018 is also on the radar for the current PNG and Pacific 400m champion.

Hamstring injury sidelined the veteran runner, as he made is yearlong recovery in Port Moresby.           

“I am so proud, to rise up from my downfall,” Stone told Loop PNG in an interview today.

The 33-year-old will depart Port Moresby for Philippines tomorrow in preparation for his first international meet this season, from June 13-16.

“I believe I will run good times because of my times in the domestic competition,” Stone said.

He had recorded a domestic season best timing of, 10.7 seconds in the 100m, and 22 seconds in the 200m.

Nelson Stone, who is recovering from an injury, is using rugby league as a vehicle of change in one of the notorious suburbs in Port Moresby.   

As the saying goes, ‘home is where the heart is’, the PNG runner had registered a team and has taken youths under his wing as coach of Tokarara Nest United.

This is the inaugural season for the team playing in the Hohola Rugby League offseason competition.

Stone told Loop PNG: “I decided to give back to the community by forming this team.”   

Nest as he is called, will return from a spell because of injuries to his knee and a recent hamstring to his right leg.

 In an exclusive with Loop PNG, Stone said he is currently under High Performance Sports Rehabilitation program under great care of Simon Morris and he is getting better and is preparing ahead for the upcoming events.

“I would like to go all the way to 2019 in for the Tong Pacific Games and win the 400m for the third time and go down as first person to win the 400m sprint three times.

They are three time Olympian and four time Pacific Games 400m hurdles Champion Mowen Boino, double Pacific Games 400m champion and London 2012 representative Nelson Stone and rising star in the 200m and 400m Theo Piniau.

Athletics PNG last year named the three contenders for this place and set out how the selection process will work.

The athlete selected will be the one who, by the PNG Olympic Committee deadline of June 19, has the best performance by reference to the IAAF scoring tables in Athletics.

Our 400m runners showed their class in winning the heats that were run this morning, recording the three fastest times out of the 17 runners who took to the blocks at the BSP Stadium.

The men’s final will run under the lights at 8:20pm tomorrow. Theo Piniau ran the fastest time,  stopping the clock at 48.71 seconds in the first heat setting the pace for his countrymen.

In the second heat, Kaminiel Matlaun ran a time of 49.71 seconds and Nelson Stone clocked 48.79 seconds in the final heat.

And the women’s 400m preliminary heats will take place at 10:50am.  

The Central Province man will be lining up in the 400m heat at 11:40am and is aiming to book a qualifying place in the next round.      

Stone is the Papua New Guinea national record holder in the 400m event and has dominated the event in the last 5 years in the Pacific Region, but in the XV Pacific Games he has to beat his own country men who have run good times this season.  

Kaminiel Matlaun, Veherney Babob, Martin Orovo and George Yamak will also be lining up in the heats.

Also arriving is Nelson Stone, the 400m men’s champion of the South Pacific.

Both were among 30 overseas based PNG athletes who arrived after midday today in Port Moresby.

They were met on arrival at the Port Moresby International Airport by PNG Chef de Mission, Richard Kassman.

Wisil who lives and trains in the United States said she is happy to be running on home soil to defend her title.

But she is not taking her rivals from New Caledonia, Tahiti and Fiji for granted.

“I am in great form and looking forward to the tracks,” she told LOOP PNG.