GRAND PRIX IN FIJI.
Due to the Army coup on Dec. 5th., OAA decided to move the Grand Prix Meetings 200km. away to the western end of the main island, Viti Levu. So they were lucky at very short notice to find a suitable field at Xavier College in Ba on the north of the island. Not only that but, by Dec. 9th., it was marked with an 8-lane 400m. track and other markings had been put in. Admittedly there were short-comings (small mats andf fixed pegs for HJ; only a small pit for LJ/TJ; no Hurdles), but beggars can't be choosers. A similar situation existed at Sigatoka on a Council track for the second Meeting. Both surfaces were uneven grass. However, the pros of OAA with local help from the excellent Athletics Fiji produced, as if by magic, numbers for the athletes, ETR, P.A. system, WSI, suitable equipment, large numbers of athletes (e.g. from Fiji and Athletics North Queensland), and numerically adequate officials (just !)
FIJI GRAND PRIX RESULTS.
Ba. Sat. Dec. 9th. 2006.
M100m. 3H Tanroo Taniera. 12.09 (w -2.2) PB(e) [Best was 11.09]
M1500m. 4F Tekooki Teieka. 4-56.41 [Best was 4-13.16] (Painful boil on his left leg.)
MHJ 6F Beteru Ateri. 1.60m. [Best was 1.79m.] No hurdles available.
M200m. 5H Tanroo Taniera. 24.24 (w -1.7) PB(e) [Best was 22.66]
Sigatoka. Mon. Dec. 11th.
M100m. 6H Tanroo Taniera. 11.88 (w -0.8) PB(e) [Best was 10.96] Ranked him 25 / 38.
M800m. 8F Tekooki Teieka. 2-16.96 [Best was 1-59.45] Boil receding !
APIA GRAND PRIX RESULTS. (Tuesday, Dec. 12th.) Sounds bad, but all gained a day in travelling ! Now they were competing on the new, Championships track. Others of the KAA team were tempted to participate.
M100m. 8H Mariuti Uan. 11.68 (w 1.0) [Best was 10.79]
M800m. 5F Tekooki Teieka. 2-10.48 SB
MLJ 2F Harry Highland. 6.44m. (NW) [Best was 6.72m.]
4F Buraieta Yeeting. 6.29m. (NW)
MJavelin. 2F Rabangaki Nawai. 55.09m. NR [Best was 64.64m.] Fantastic improvement !
YMJavelin. 1F Bonea Tokataake. 54.02m. PB (Amazing improvement by over 12m. !)
CROSS-COUNTRY at Aggie Grey's Resort, Apia. Weds. Dec. 13th.
This was the first OAA Cross-Country Championships on the Country. Tekooki, having run in the World Cross-Country in Portugal in 2000, became the first I-Kiribati to compete as an individual in international Cross-Country.
M6km. Race. 10F Tekooki Teieka. 33-25 PB [Best was 26-48]
OAA OPEN and u-18 Championships. Apia Park.
Day 1. (Thursday, Dec. 14th. 2006.)
u-18W3000m. 3F Banrenga Baikia. 14-09.92 [Best was 10-01.32 ] The time was poor, the bronze a bonus !
M100m. 6H Mariuti Uan. 11.53 PB(e) (w 0.1) [Best was 10.89] Beat old NR.
MHJ 5F Buraieta Yeeting. 1.80m. (PB 1.81.) [Best was 2.07m.] Very competitive performance.
6F Beteru Ateri. 1.77m. PB Warming up for the Hurdles !
MShot. 9F Tiim Romatoa. 11.88m. [Best was 14.39m.] Not too bad after such disturbed travels !
u-18MDiscus 14F Bonea Tokataake. 34.37m. [Best was 49.09m.] Disappointing - could have come 8th.
M4 x 100m. 3H Mariuti/Tanroo/Tim/Rabangaki 44.6 NR [Best was ?] Run in the dark - so no ETR !!
MOctathlon. (Day 1.) At the end of Day 1, Rabangaki Nawai was the leader by 81 points (2818 - 2737). 8 started.
100m. 1. Rabangaki Nawai. 11.17. NR A brilliant improvement ! What a way to start !
LJ 1. Rabangaki 6.51m. (PB 6.57) SB
Shot 2. Rabangaki 11.64m. (PB 11.82)
400m. 1. Rabangaki 52.34 PB (near NR 52.32)
This was an excellent display of all-round quality which shook the main (Australian) contender. Would it result in our first-ever GOLD at this level ?
Day 2. (Friday, Dec. 15th. 2006.)
u-18W800m. 6F Banrenga Baikia. 2-59.23 SB [Best was 2-21.07]
u-18WLJ 8F Lilly Pine. 4.27m. [Best was 5.65m.] Her first-ever international competition !
M800m. 10F Tekooki Teieka. 2-10.23 SB [Best was 1-52.65] He kept on improving !
M110m.Hdls. 4F Beteru Ateri. 17.12 (w -0.9) SB [Best was 15.02] Hit the last three ! (NR 16.90)
M400m.Hdls. 4H Beteru Ateri. 59.39 NR [Best was 54.91] Another milestone achieved !
MLJ 6F Harry Highland. 6.40m. (NW) [Best was 7.14m.] Disappointing after 5 months at HPTC !
9F Buraieta Yeeting. 5.99m. (NW) Should have placed 7th.
u-18M200m. 4H Tim Natua. 24.24 (w -0.6) PB(e) [Heat winner 22.61]
4H Tanroo Taniera. 24.24 (w -0.6) =PB(e) [Heat winner 22.89]
u-18Mixed Medley Relay. (G100/B100/G200/B400)
6F Banrenga/Tanroo/Lilly/Tim. 1-57.66 NR [Winner 1-37.26] Our only available four !
MOctathlon. (Day 2.) At his best, a victory was possible for Rabangaki. But that does not allow for sore arms, hitting hurdles, etc. Suffice to say that he lost points (to the Australian) on the first three events today. He beat him in the final race, the 1000m., but the gap was by then too great. At the end he won a well-deserved SILVER medal, losing by just 139 points (4992 - 5131). Apart from his other records, this total is also a new NR.
110m. Hurdles. 5 Rabangaki Nawai. 17.86 Ten high jumps do not give you a fast time ! Now second.
HJ 3 Rabangaki 1.67m. (PB 1.69) Slipping further behind.
Javelin 2 Rabangaki 47.31m. Faulty technique on first throw hurt his arm. (Think of that 55m. !!)
1000m. 2 Rabangaki 3-10.27 PB Courageous run but pulled back only 10 points.
Today, he proved, as was pointed out years ago, that he is one of the best all-round athletes in the region.
Day 3. Saturday, Dec. 16th. 2006.
All our athletes except Banrenga (withdrawn from the 1500m.) competed today.
M200m. 6H Mariuti Uan. 23.37 (w 2.2) PB [Heat winner 21.82.] Second PB for Mariuti.
5H Rabangaki Nawai. 23.42 (w 2.1) [Heat winner 22.21.]
u-18MShot 11F Bonea Tokataake. 11.55m. [Winner 15.62m.] Could have been 9th. ?
MDiscus 9F Tiim Romatoa. 37.77m. (near NR 37.85) [Winner 45.75.] Needed three more throws !
M400m.Hdls. 7F Beteru Ateri. 59.32 NR [Winner 51.62.] A triumph !
u-18W100m. 6H Lilly Pine. 14.15 PB(e) (w 1.7) [Best was 12.56.]
MTJ 3F Buraieta Yeeting. 13.30m. (NW) [Winner 13.56.] Final jump - to get a medal !
-- Harry Highland. 3 x NJ (NW) Might this have been GOLD and our first 14m. jump ?
u-18M100m. 5H Tanroo Taniera. 11.72 PB(e) (w 1.1) [Heat winner 11.09.] Injured his leg.
5H Tim Natua. 11.95 (w -0.2) [Heat winner 11.41.]
u-18WTJ 7F Lilly Pine. 9.28m. PB (NW) [Winner 11.38m.]
u-18MJavelin 5F Bonea Tokataake. 47.01m. [Winner 64.33m.] Could have been bronze, but...!
M1500m. 9F Tekooki Teieka. 4-39.39 SB [Winner 4-04.09] Another tiring programme !
M4 x 100m. 8F Mariuti/Buraieta/Tim/Rabangaki. 45.19 [Winner 41.73] Close to old NR, even with a sub. !
TO SUMMARISE !
What did we expect from a competition which is increasing in size and quality ? The ATHETES achieved 3 medals, 6 National Records (NR), 14 Personal Best Performances (PBs), and 6 Season's Best Performances (SBs). As COACHES we would worry that maybe they were not well enough prepared. However (not seeking excuses) most were preparing for and doing exams. until three weeks before departure. Some, like Bonea, had only been seriously training for five months - he does not yet have the consistency to match his potential. The surprises and milestones far outweigh the disappointments and so we should be happy - within the known constraints. A final memory of our medallists. Rabangaki fighting to get as much distance as possible on the Australian in the final event. Banrenga kept on running when others stopped ! Buraieta, with a little encouragement, pushed himself in the gloom to get one more long bounce - only 8cm. short of his best. And the others: Lilly proved herself to be a real competitor, even with zero experience. Beteru - some reward for all the stretching and sweat on hurdles which for him are really HIGH ! Tanroo and Tim - PBs and a share in two NRs. Tiim so close to a Discus NR. Mariuti two PBs and a share in a NR. Tekooki - another huge programme and close to his best of 2005. Bonea's delight with the Javelin - after only three or four sessions in Tarawa ! And Harry, plagued by a history of injuries and thus not able to commit himself fully to each take-off. I was pleased and proud to be there and part of it - as were Tierata and Riani. And so to 2007 !
Last Modified on 02/01/2007 14:48