Fired up Karan in Fiji’s top 10
Former Coca-Cola Games champion, Yeshnil Karan turned an exceptional performance to be included in the alltime top 10 list in 3000 metres. During Athletics Fiji competition at the ANZ Stadium on Saturday, Karan clocked (electronic time) 9 minutes 02.72 seconds to be the eighth fastest on the all-time list and the fastest since 2003.
On April 3 during the National Championships, Karan clocked a personal best of 1: 59.34 secs on the 800m and 4: 07.69in the 1,500m. He had been working on his family farm with limited time to train since leaving Tavua College where he completed his Form 7.
Since October 2020, Karan’s fortunes changed when former national distance coach, Atma Maharaj, started coaching and mentoring him, remotely from Brisbane. He relocated to Suva in January and was offered a job at JR White and is now on a structured and monitored programme with the assistance of Maharaj and his Strength & Conditioning coach Henry Elder.
Former Olympian and Pacific Games champion Isireli Naikelekelevesi, who is currently in Fiji, is supervising Karan.
The first steps are designed to help Karan strengthen his foundation and prepare him for Queensland Athletics season when the borders eventually open.
It is planned for Karan to be in Brisbane from January 2022 to race in the Australian competitions. Karan’s programme is funded by former leading athletes of the once dominant Striders Club and supported by Oceania Athletics Association (OAA) and Athletics Fiji. The all-time top 10 performers in the 3000m are: Usaia Sotutu (8:13.60sec), Davendra Singh (8:27.13), Morgan Clark (8: 39.88), Moses Zarak Khan (8: 53.40), Bineshwar Prasad (8: 58.00), Isireli Naikelekelevesi (9:00.90), Semi Vuetibau (9:O2.60), Avikash Lal (9:08.30), Mohammed Mufin (9:08.51), Esala Talebula (9:10.65).