70 lifters for Fiji Day showdown

Weightlifting Fiji will cel­ebrate Fiji Day with a ma­jor championship expected to attract up to 70 lifters at the Na­tional Fitness Centre in Suva on Saturday.

The Fiji Day Weightlifting Cham­pionships will run from 8am to 2pm, with free entry for spectators.

Commonwealth Games gold medal­list Taniela Rainibogi, Mini Games bronze medallist Daniel Shaw and two-time Fiji Young Female Athlete of the Year Mereia Turaganivalu headline the elite session, which starts at 8am.

The event will also mark the inau­gural Fiji Secondary Schools Weight­lifting Championships, with Lomary Secondary School, Ballantine Memo­rial School, Gospel High School and Navosa Central College competing.

"We expect a tough competition and an interesting one on Saturday," Weightlifting Fiji head coach Henry Elder told SUNsports.

''All athletes will look to break their personal best and even push their limits."

Levuka Public School will hold its own competition in Levuka under the guidance of Weightlifting Fiji vice-president Eremasi Qaibau.

The final session will feature Weightlifting Fiji's Youth and Jun­ior Development Squad, with several lifters having represented Fiji at the 2026 Oceania Championships in Sa­moa.

Officials said this would be one of the organisation's biggest competi­tion turnouts in recent years.

The championships will showcase established competitors while giving emerging lifters an opportunity to test themselves.