Rodan: Need to Lift Performance

Athletes braved the heat at the ANZ Stadium to compete at the Shop N Save Athletics Fiji National Athletics Championship yesterday. Athletics Fiji president Joe Rodan Snr was impressed with the big turnout and support shown towards the athletes. He said most participants were secondary school students but there would have been a bigger crowd if it was not for the zone meets that were held during the week days. The former South Pacific 400m hurdle champion said eventhough most of the top athletes are away overseas the championship is a chance for those interested to show their worth. “We are missing our top athletes because they are competing overseas at the moment. They are preparing for the Melanesian Games in July and also try to qualify for the Olympics. Apart from that we have a good number of locals that could become top athletes in the future.”

Judging from yesterday’s performance, Rodan says, it is pretty average. “There wasn’t any outstanding performance that we could really boast about.” Rodan added that there would be more competitions coming up as preparations for the Melanesian Games continue. “On April 9 we will have a grand prix in Ba, where we will take athletes from Suva to compete. After the Ba meet we will have another one here on April 16 which is a final selection for the Melanesian Games. After that you will have the Coke Games and we will also pick from there too.”

Athletics Fiji will be looking at three grades: Under-18, Open and Master’s Event for the Melanesian Games. Edited by Leone Cabenatabua