Etienne Tchitchui
by Amy Duquette
Observe a typical gym class in any American public middle school and you will most likely see a group of children
lingering in the corner attempting to stay out of the coach’s view, another group passively tossing a ball around
and a select few actually partaking in the sport. Growing up in Cameroon, a providence in Central Africa, Etienne
recalls a very different situation of children of the same age. All the kids in primary school, the equivalent to
American middle school, wanted to engage and looked forward to the 7-8AM exercise hour, twice a week. "The teachers
were not demanding, but they wanted us to sweat and to be happy and awake before school started; and we all wanted
to play."
At the time he was playing and loved soccer. However, at around age 11 he noticed that he could run faster than
any other kid in his school. In Africa, if a child shows interest in a sport the teachers (coaches) would gladly
support it. The teachers encouraged him to stop playing soccer and focus on running especially when he entered
college, in America we call high school. He joined a running training club. "I loved it. If I was not running I
would not know what else would make me happy." He also found his competitive passion in running at that young age.
"I had a dream. I wanted to be the champion of my province." That first year of college he trained to be ready for
the next year’s province’s championships. He achieved his dream taking first place in the 800 with a time of 2:17.
He also ran the 1500 and finished 7th in the province.
After this competition his parents realized that running was clearly first in his life, before his studies. They
made him adjust his focus. His father predicted that if he eased up on running now and studied more he’d be able
to come back to running at a later time and be just as strong. "My father knew what he was talking about" Etienne
says. But along with the truth in his word also came great pain. When Etienne was 17, his father died. Etienne
then moved in with an uncle and changed schools. He could not focus on running for about a year while in bereavement.
When he came back to the sport he found that the increased competition among the runners at this new school, along
with its location at a higher altitude were both conducive for pushing his running to another level.
Students stay in college in Africa for more than the 4 years that American high school students do, so Etienne had
plenty of time left to compete; and he made the most of this time. For three consecutive years he remained the
undefeated champ in the 800 on the statewide level. During this time he got his PR in the 1500 down to 3:54 and
in the 800 down to an impressive 1:57. This time won him a trip to the Jeux de La Francophonie games in France
and the African Games in 1987 where the best young athletes form around the world convened. In France, he shaved
even more time off both of his races, finishing his 800 in 1:52 his 1500 in 3:49.
Even with these times he did not place at these highly competitive games but these times did win him a very
important scholarship. Only 3 of the type are awarded each year. The country selects its three best young athletes
to be sent to France to train for the Olympics. Due to political corruption and money being in the wrong hands,
the country did not acknowledge Etienne’s scholarship and sent another athlete.
‘Disappointment’ barely describes the feeling that overtook Etienne. He moved to South Africa, stopped running and
started weight lifting completely changing his body from that of an elite runner to a body builder. Next, he moved
to Chili where he began to run longer distances for the first time in his life. He realized that the extra miles
began to burn off the muscle mass that he built up while in defiance of the sport. Then he moved to Central America
where he lived for three years. Here he opened two very successful internet cafes and a restaurant. Finally he moved
to New York where he studied culinary arts at the French Culinary Institute in Soho. Etienne now works for JP Morgan
as a chief, preparing meals for company events.
Living in Brooklyn, close to Prospect Park where he was running one day, he saw a group running by and asked one
who the group belonged to? It happened to be a bunch of PPTCers. Etienne looked up the club on the internet and
joined, bringing his elite running times into the club. Etienne’s pace per mile are all within the 5 to 6 minute
range. He recently completed the Joe Kleinerman 10K 12/7/08 in 38:27, the Continental Airlines 5th Ave Mile 9/21/08
in 4:51 and his Half Marathon time was 1:22:33 in the 7/13/08 NYC Half. "Every time I step on the track I do my best.
I’ll never stop running...but now it’s for my health and for the experience."