Francis Kompaon (born 16 January 1986 in Rabaul[1]) is a T46 Papua New Guinean athlete.
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's para athletics (T46) | ||
Representing  Papua New Guinea
| ||
| Paralympic Games | ||
 |
2008 Beijing | 100 m T46 |
| Pacific Games | ||
|
2015 Port Moresby | 100 m Ambulent |
He represented Papua New Guinea at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, competing in athletics in the one hundred metre sprint, T46 category. With a time of 11.10 seconds, he finished second in the final, five hundredths of a second behind Australia's Heath Francis. It was Papua New Guinea's first ever Olympic or Paralympic medal,[2][3][4] and only the second ever Olympic or Paralympic medal won by a Pacific Islander; Tongan boxer Paea Wolfgramm had won a silver at the 1996 Olympics.[5] He also competed in the 200-metre sprint, finishing ninth overall in the heats, with a time of 23.30 seconds.[6] Kompaon was his country's flagbearer at the Games' opening ceremony,[7] and was one of fifteen competitors (out of over 4000) selected to carry the torch during the Paralympic torch relay in Beijing.[8]
He had previously won several gold medals at regional competitions in Oceania, and had finished fourth in the 200m sprint for élite athletes with disabilities at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[9]
Papua New Guinea's sports minister Dame Carol Kidu said that Kompaon's Paralympic medal had "raised the issue of disability in Papua New Guinea to a level that it has never been".[10] In direct response to Kompaon's medal, Prime Minister Michael Somare promised that the government would increase funding for disability sports.[11]
In 2009, Kompaon enrolled in sports management at Griffith University in Queensland.[12]
He qualified as one of two athletes to represent Papua New Guinea at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London,[13] and was again selected to be his country's flag-bearer during the Games' opening ceremony[14] competed in the men's 100m and 200m T46 (the category for upper limb amputees). In the 200m, he finished sixth (of eight) in his heat, with a new personal best of 23.05, and did not advance to the final.[15] In his main event, the 100m, he finished third (of seven) in heat 2, qualifying for the final as the fastest loser overall with a personal best time of 11.21 (fifth fastest overall over the three heats). In the final, however, he was unable to repeat his Beijing performance; he "injured his hamstring near the finish line" and finished seventh (of eight) in 12.28.[16][17]
References
edit- ^ Francis Kompaon's biography Archived 18 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine on the official website of the 2008 Paralympics
- ^ "Silver for Francis Kompaon" Archived 23 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Oceania Athletics Association, 15 September 2008
- ^ "Kompaon a champ on our national day" Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Post Courier, 16 September 2008
- ^ "Heath Francis: Triple Paralympic gold medallist" Archived 20 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The Age, 16 September 2008
- ^ "Francis' medal for PNG the start of 'something special'" Archived 4 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Radio Australia, 18 September 2008
- ^ "Kompaon eyes 100m" Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Post Courier, 11 September 2008
- ^ Official list of flagbearers Archived 9 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine on the website of the International Paralympic Committee
- ^ "Sponsors bid PNG farewell" Archived 16 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Post Courier, 3 September 2008
- ^ "Preview of Island Athletes at the Paralympic Games" Archived 23 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Oceania Athletics Association, 1 September 2008
- ^ "PNG senators 'thrilled' by Kompaon Paralympics silver" Archived 4 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Radio Australia, 18 September 2008
- ^ "Sir Michael boosts disabled sport, Kompoan (sic) gets performance bonus", ABC Radio Australia, 19 September 2008 Archived 19 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Kompoan (sic) heading to QLD's Griffith Univserity". ABC Radio Australia. 21 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012.
- ^ "Harabe makes London Games" Archived 18 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The National, 5 April 2012
- ^ "Paralympic athletes praise Cardiff for warm welcome" Archived 25 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Your Cardiff, 23 August 2012
- ^ Results : men's 200m T46 Archived 7 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, official website
- ^ Results: men's 100m T46 Archived 8 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, official website
- ^ "Sport: PNG’s Kompaon misses out on medal in 100m final" Archived 4 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine, Radio New Zealand International, 6 September 2012
External links
edit- Francis Kompaon at the International Paralympic Committee
- Francis Kompaon at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)
- "Photo: Torchbearer Francis Kompaon displays the torch", Xinhua, 6 September 2008
- "Australia's Heath Francis, facing, celebrates with Papua New Guinea's Francis Kompaon (1853) after the Men's 100m T46 final at the Beijing 2008 Paraly" [sic], Associated Press photo, 15 September 2008