Former Olympian Supports Postponement Of 2020 Olympics
Olympian Sitiveni Moceidreke is content with the postponement of the 2020 Olympics set to take place next year.
It was 60 years ago when the Viseisei, Vuda sprinter brought pride to his community and nation.
At the age of 23, Moceidreke had qualified and represented Fiji at the 1960 Rome Olympics in the 100 and 200 metres (which was 100 and 220 yards at the time).
He came third in the heats and qualified for the 100m quarterfinals with a time of 10.8s.
Moceidreke is now 83-years-old and bedridden.
His eldest son former Nadi football rep Peni Moceidreke takes care of him.
“The postponement of the Olympics 2020 in Japan is a sad story for me personally,” he said.
“But the good thing that it has been postponed for a good and valid reason.
At all-time the welfare of athletes and people remains paramount.
Moceidreke excelled on the track while employed as a senior aircraft refueller with Vacuum Oil Company based at the Nadi International Airport.
Some of his best memories was in Suva when he ran 10s in the 100 yards at the Buckhurst Park on June 4, 1960.
A few hours later he broke the national record of 220 yards in a time of 22s.
The old record was then 22.2s set by the late Joe Levula.
“That day I went to Buckhurst Park in Laucala just to compete in the Fiji championship to win,” he said.
“It turned out that I qualified for the Rome Olympics in 1960.
“To run there in less than three months. At that time the Olympics Games was not that well known,”
Moceidreke also ran in Australia where he won the 100m race in 10.4 sec, a fraction outside of the Australian record prior to the world event.
He was accompanied by wild card entrant, the late Mesulame Rakuro, a Ba school teacher who was the flag bearer and participated in the field events at the same Olympic game. Moceidreke has maternal links to Yako, Nadroga.
He attended Vunayasi District School. “Nowadays, we would expect time to be faster, since it is a synthetic track, and coaching is professional too,” he said.