Saint John won the 2018 Gospel High School inter-house athletics competition at the ANZ Stadium in Suva, yesterday.

The house in yellow collected 34 gold medals, 22 silver and 18 bronze followed by St Mathew with 22 gold, 23 silver and 14 bronze. St Luke came third with 20 gold, 18 silver and 25 bronze followed by St Mark with 15 gold, 25 silver and 13 bronze medals.

Speaking to SUNsports, GHS head of physical education Semi Underwood said they were pleased with the turnout of students during the competition.

“Over 400 students participated this year which is a slight increase compared to last year,” Underwood said.

“For the last three years the school hasn’t been performing up to the required standard. So, we are on a rebuilding stage of trying to prepare our junior athletes to be able to compete against top athletes from other schools.”

He said they have set a strategic training programme for students to adopt so they could get better with their performance.

“In fact, it is part of our three-year plan as we are working towards it. We also hope to identify potential athletes and with the help of our teachers and management we are hoping to achieve our goal.

“The school is proud to have produced athletes like Aaron Powell and Younis Besse who represented the country at international events. As of this year we can’t guarantee any medals the school is vying for in the Coca-Cola Games but we’re hopeful that potential athletes will be identified from the elite squad.

“However, the major challenge that we face among students in particular is that they still lack the required exposure and need proper training prior to the competitions which we hope to improve in the years to come.”

 Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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