Against the odds, Indigenous sprinter Otis Gowa broke through to win the national 100m title at the weekend’s Australian Athletics Championships in Brisbane in a time of 10.63 seconds.

Gowa is one of the success stories of the Australian Sports Commission’s National Talent Identification and Development (NTID) program, which is being delivered in partnership with Athletics Australia.

Promoted as Jump Start to London 2012, the NTID program aims to identify and develop Indigenous athletes for elite competition with the ultimate goal of the Olympic Games in four years’ time.

The Australian Sports Commission’s larger NTID program serves to test and develop hundreds of potential Indigenous athletes in a range of sports also including hockey, basketball and softball.

Gowa showed composure at his first national championships, beating favourites Matt Shirvington and Patrick Johnson in a boil-over before a vocal stand at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.

Importantly, he has highlighted the prospects for other Indigenous athletes coming through the ranks.

Born in the Cape York region to a Ghanaian father, his mother, Peta, is native to the Torres Strait and lives on Saba Island.

He grew up in Ravenshoe in the Atherton Tablelands, where a high school teacher acknowledged his talents on the track and encouraged a commitment to athletics. A move to Cairns followed.

But what makes Gowa’s story all the more special is his ongoing triumph over cancer. Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in August 2006, while living in Cairns and employed as an AFL development officer, he returned to training eight weeks later and competed at the Oceania Championships in Samoa in December of that year.

In May 2007, he moved to Brisbane to be coached by Sydney Olympian Darryl Wohlsen and has made continued improvement.

He was invited to attend the national relay camp in Sydney in January and, after his efforts on the weekend, could even push for selection for this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

While it was unexpected, Athletics Australia’s development manager Sally McGrady - who co-ordinates the Jump Start program - says winning a national title is a major step for Otis as he chases his Olympic dream.

“In winning a national title Otis has achieved a major goal in his quest to qualify for the Olympics,” she said.

“He has shown good form and come a long way through the ranks to win his first 100m title.

“It proves the value and importance of NTID programs like Jump Start in identifying and developing talented Indigenous athletes and it’s great to see more Indigenous athletes progressing though elite pathways to compete at this elite level. 

“I really believe that Otis’ win will help inspire and motivate other talented Indigenous athletes to pursue their own dreams.”

That was the case for Gowa too, inspired by the feats of Olympic and world 400m champion Cathy Freeman, Olympic 110m hurdles finalist Kyle Vander Kuyp and former national 100m champion Josh Ross.

Gowa, whose preferred event is the 200m, will return to training in a bid to better his time in the lead-up to Beijing.