Bad Weather Fails To Stop Athletes From Attending Trial

Despite the adverse weather conditions a good number of athletes turned up today at the Suva’s HFC Bank Stadium for the first trial for the Honiara Pacific Games set at the end of the year.

Speaking to SUNsports, coach, Antonio Raboiliku said he has seen good times from the athletes participating in the trial.

“The coaches have been doing a good job as the athletes have been keeping up with their training,” he said.

Raboiliku said he hopes the benchmark they’ve set would help them reach their objectives at the Pacific Games.

“There were more than 100 athletes that have turned up today and most of these athletes live in rural areas, “he said.

Raboiliku said due to the weather and financial constraints, they are hoping to accommodate everyone in the next two trials.

“Some athletes didn’t show up today especially the ones in boarding schools and those in outer islands, “he said.

Most of the athletes that were present in the trial are from Suva and the West Division.

“We don’t have any overseas-based athletes present for instance, we have Yeshnil Karan who is based in Australia but they will send his competition results over. We’ll put it together with our results in Fiji, “he said.

Raboiliku said the overseas athletes are required to send their competition results provided it is sanctioned by Athletics Fiji to ensure it is comparable to the trials qualifying standards.

He also confirmed that sprinter Waisale Inoke and Vilorina Naibena have been awarded scholarships to study and train in America for two years. This was made possible through the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Commitee (FASANOC) and Athletics Fiji.

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