Glory days

TAKE a bow people. Congratulations are in order for the fastest man in the Pacific. Banuve Tabakaucoro won gold in the 100m final on Tuesday, and got his second gold medal yesterday, finishing off a very tight 200m final ahead of Samoan favourite Jeremy Dodson.

The Bau Bullet stopped the clock at 20.87 seconds ahead of Dodson’s 20.91 seconds.

It was a nerve-rattling race for Fijian fans who kept their hopes high in the wake of Tabakaucoro’s dominant finish on Tuesday.

The clash of the two fast men was a highlight of the Pacific Games in Samoa.

In the women’s division, Papua New Guinea’s sprint queen Toea Wisil won gold in the 200m final with a time of 23.34 second, ahead of Fiji’s Heleina Young who won silver and Leonie Beu of PNG who won bronze.

The athletics competition is into its final day today at Apia Park.

Tabakaucoro said it was a great feeling to retain the title against a great competitor who was specialist in the 200m.

Victory for him meant holding out in the first 50 metres

of the final. It meant taking the lead and maintaining that. It meant being on the lookout for Dodson at the tail end of the race.

The plan worked and Tabakaucoro finished ahead of Dodson at the end.

Dodson, he knew, was a “killer finisher”.

“Before I knew it, Jeremy was right there beside me and it just came down to the wire,” he said.

Dodson acknowledged the level of competition. “It’s great to get that type of level in the Pacific. I’m honoured and privileged to have him around to push us both to go up to the international stage to represent the Pacific,” said Dodson.

There is a lesson here. It is about commitment and the desire to do well. It is about working hard to live a dream no matter how big the obstacles are. It is about self-belief. There is a touch of humility somewhere there.

Not every athlete who makes it to the games will win a gold medal.

There must be a sense of accomplishment though, of having made it there.

It is the culmination of years of preparation.

The Pacific Games is special for many reasons.

It brings out the best of the region’s athletes.

This is an opportunity to display their talent, and potential.

It is a platform that Pacific athletes can use to live their dreams, and reach out or prepare themselves for events such as the Commonwealth Games and the ultimate, the Olympic Games. This is where it all starts.

As we count down the days to the end of the games, we look ahead to some exciting final competitions today and tomorrow.

Athletics, basketball, boxing, soccer, netball, powerlifting, sailing, shooting, squash, taekwondo, tennis, touch, triathlon and volleyball will round off the two-week event.

We look forward with interest to the ever popular relay finals as well, and wish all the teams the very best.