Lagonilakeba In Hawaii For Swim Championship
Cokes gold medallist Ofa Lagonilakeba, 18 is set to change her tracksuit to swimming togs.
Lagonilakeba, who won the senior girls 200 meters for Natabua High School last weekend is now in Hawaii for the 2022 Junior Pan Pacific (JPP) swimming championship.
She finished third in the 100m heats and did not qualify for the final. She also won silver in the senior girls 4 x 100m relay.
“I was disappointed with my 100 meters. The amount of expectations everyone had on me from the zone meet was kind of hard on me,” Lagonilakeba said.
Lagonilakeba is part of the 10-member of the Fiji Swimming Development squad team that flew out on Sunday for Honolulu, Hawaii.
The championship starts tomorrow (August 24) and finishes on August 27.
“I am just taking things slowly step by step. Returned home on Saturday night. I did my recovery on the plane,” she said.
Her first event is tomorrow – the 100 metre backstroke and another events three (100 meters backstroke, 100m freestyle and 50m freestyle). The competition times plus the relay will be confirmed later in the week.
“I’m looking forward to it, because we will be competing with charter nations like the USA, Canada, the world’s best juniors,” she said.
“Our main focus is improving our times, to qualify for other overseas meets.”
She added that her family and team mates have been her pillar of strength.
“The JPP families have been fundraising to raise money to assist our team to get to Hawaii,” she said.
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