Running up and down the terrains of Tailevu North saw a fit Loraini Vunake­ce took out the 3000m girl’s final at the ANZ Stadium, Suva yes­terday.

The win saw her grab Tailevu North College’s first gold medal at the Coca-Cola Games.

Vunakece clocked a time of 11.15.79 minutes followed by Camari Adilasaqa of Adi Cakob­au School with a time of 11.37.40 min while Mereoni Vakalolo of Seqaqa Central College came third with 11.45.42 min.

Speaking to SUNsports, Vu­nakece said for months she would run from Wailotua in Wainibuka to her village of Veinuqa.

“It’s about an hour’s drive,” she said.

“I didn’t expect to win the race. It was months of hard work as I trained along the hills of Wailo­tua.

ENCOURAGING WORDS

“It was a struggle for me waking up early in the morning and run­ning up the hill with my coach and other team-mates.

“I’m grateful for that as it paid off with a medal today.

“I thank my coach for believing in me and always encouraging me to keep working hard.”

–Edited by Leone Cabenatabua

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