Time to Rest, Celebrate, Take Stock, Step Up To
THE NEXT LEVEL OF THE 2022 INTERNATIONAL SPORTING CHALLENGES AND BEYOND
All our Team Fiji athletes to the Tokyo Olympics are home with the arrival of the final group on Wednesday. Like the rest, our bronze medallist women’s rugby sevens team will spend 14 days in quarantine in Nadi before teaming-up with their family.
On the other hand, their male counterparts will disperse today after observing the 14-day health protocol in Nadi and celebrate with their family and friends of their historic Olympic gold medal defence.
Our players deservedly needed rest and being together with their family after soldiering the call of duty with pride and honour.
Being 59th out of 206 nations (86 medalled), show progress, thanks to rugby, after our gold medal win at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Our rugby players passed the character test and they need to keep the consistency in future. Another big year looms with the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, Sevens Rugby World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, Rugby World Cup (women) in Auckland, New Zealand.
As with other sports, it’s time to up their work rate at home and focus on the regional meet like 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara.
Unfortunately, it would take years of hard work and planning for other sports to make a mark at the Olympics, let alone qualify on merit. And that’s the challenge they need to take up and meet.
Team Fiji chef de mission Patrick
Bower is optimistic that athletes can perform much better at the
Paris 2024 Olympics.
Bower said in Wednesday: “What we need to note is what we do from now and on.
“We can celebrate and think about the future and the next level. “I believe we can have a good team for the next Olympics depending on where we do now not tomorrow.”
Now it’s time for other sports not to refer themselves as minor because there’s no such thing when competing at the Olympic level. When you compete at the Olympics, you are an Olympian therefore all must give justification to the name by doing your best on the global stage.