Javelin throwing is very technical, and stressful on the arms and shoulders. In a region where there is a dearth of field athletes competing internationally, javelin thrower Justin Arup has risen to the occasion and for many years represented Uganda at the All-Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. In the process he broke the African record. Arup’s national record still stands, and he remains Uganda’s greatest individual athlete.
Arup’s remarkable athletic talent was apparent as a teenager. In 1976, at the East and Central African Championships held in Zanzibar, 18-year-old Arup won gold with a distance of 68.05 metres. Arup ousted Kenyan champion John Mayaka, who won the bronze medal at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh with an African record throw of 77.56 metres. At the next East and Central African Championships, Arup became the javelin champion again (71.04m) in 1977 in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1981 (74.94m) in Mombasa in Kenya, in 1982 (73.02m) in Cairo in Egypt, in 1985 in Cairo, in 1989 (69.94 million) in Arusha in Tanzania, and in 1990 (66.50 million) in Jinja in Uganda. In 1989, at the same Championships, the strong and agile Arop won the gold medal with his shot put of 13.15 metres. The tournament ended in 1990; They were briefly revived in 1995 as the East African Championships (Region V), but lost their spark and only lasted for three more years – in 2001, 2003 and 2005.
At the 1978 All African Games, held in Algiers, Justin Arup won the gold medal with a national record throw of 76.94m, far ahead of second-place silver medalist Ali Mimi of Tunisia (71.28m), and bronze medalist John Miaka (70.76m). ) from Kenya. The next venue for the All-Africa Games was Nairobi in Kenya in 1987, nearly 10 years after hosting Algeria in 1978. Arup ably defended his continental title, winning gold with a throw of 73.42m. A meter behind was Tanzania’s silver medalist Zakayo Malikwa ahead of Kenya’s George Odera (71.30m) with the bronze.
Arup remains the only track and field athlete to have ever represented Uganda in three Olympic venues. Born on 24 March 1958 in the Akoli district of northern Uganda, Arup was 22 years old when he represented Uganda at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. In the javelin throwing qualifying round, which took place on July 26, 1980, Arup’s best throw was amazing. His best distance was 82.68m – a new Ugandan record that has yet to be surpassed! It was also a new record in Africa! However, many javelin throwers were ahead of Arup – he took eighth place and was far behind the best athlete of the qualifying round Ferenc Baraki from Hungary (88.76 m). The requirement was for the first twelve, plus any additional competitors who would throw over 80 meters to qualify for the final round. Arup was the only African finalist. Marius Corbet of the Republic of South Africa set the current African record, 88.75 metres, in 1998.
The twelve Olympic finalists made their final throw on July 27. With a best throw of 77.34m, including some misses, Justin Arup’s ranking dropped to 12th or last among the finalists. Unfortunately, Arup’s final throw was 77.34m, more than 5m behind his record-breaking best throw in the qualifying rounds! The winners were Daines Kola (USSR) with a gold medal of 91.20 metres, silver medalist Alexander Makarov (USSR) with 89.64 metres, and Wolfgang Hansch (East Germany) with a throw of 86.72 metres.
Among the many years that Justin Arup won the javelin throw at the Uganda Athletics Championships were 1981 (75.90m), 1982 (68.30m), 1984 (64.17m), 1985 (65.22m), 1986 (74.10m), 1987 ( 65.23m), 1990 (64.48m), 1991 (66.76m). Arup was also a national shot put champion in 1982 (14.24m), 1985 (13.20m), and 1986 (12.82m).
At the 1984 Olympic Games held in August in Los Angeles, the challenge was for the twelve best javelin throwers plus all those who had achieved at least 83 meters to advance to the final round. On August 4th, Arup’s performance among athletes in the Group 1 qualifying round was a far cry from his Olympic performance in Moscow in 1980. This time, Arup’s best throw of 69.76m was the worst of the 14 competitors in the group. Arup was eliminated from advancing to the finals. In the end, Arup’s distance of 69.76m put him in 27th place, ahead of New Zealand’s Mike O’Rourke, the 28th and last place finisher, whose terrible mistake did not allow him to score at all. Another African competitor, Zakayo Malkua of Tanzania, whom Arup knew competitively, finished 19th overall.
On September 24, 1988, 30-year-old Arup was ready to throw the javelin in his third Olympic appearance. This time the measure was for the first twelve and a tie, and all those who threw 79 meters to advance to the final round. There were two groups in the qualifying round, and Arop was in Pool B. Out of 19 competitors in Pool B, Arop placed 17th with a best throw of 69.10 metres. So he didn’t make it to the finals. Ultimately, Arop ranked 33rd out of a total of 38 competitors. Remarkably, Zakayo Malkowa, the only other African competitor, again finished 34th with his best throw of 67.56m. The Olympic medalists are Jan Zelezny of Czechoslovakia (85.90m, new Olympic record), Sipo Rati of Finland (81.62m), and Tapio Korjus of Finland (81.42m).
On August 29, 1987, at the 2nd World Championships in Athletics held in Rome, out of 37 competitors, Arup was eliminated from the heats after posting a best throw of 71.76m and finishing 14th. The eventual medalists were future Olympic medalist Sipo Raati of Finland (83.54m), Viktor Yevsiokov of the Soviet Union (82.52m), and future Olympic medalist Jan Zhelezny of Czechoslovakia (82.20m). And in Ulm, West Germany at an athletics meet, Justin Arup threw the javelin to 75.52m on August 6th, 1988.
On January 3rd at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, held in Auckland, New Zealand, Arup’s best attempt at the javelin was 70.74 metres. He was the best among the African competitors in the event, but it would only give him an eighth-place finish in the finals. The medal was won by England’s Steve Buckley (86.02m) and Mick Hill (83.32m) and New Zealander Gavin Lovegrove (81.66m).
Justin Arop was only 36 years old when he passed away in 1994. The Arop Memorial Tournament, in his honor, was first held in Gulu in northern Uganda, at Bissi Stadium, in July 2006, September 2007, and April 2009. In April in 2010, the family appealed to the Government of Uganda to establish a school or vocational institute in honor of Justin Arup.