BREAKING a 45-year-old record comes with its own prestige in light of the uniqueness of achieving a feat no one could in the time it took, however for Malekalita May, her achievement came with a note of sorrow.
May won gold in the intermediate girls high jump event where she jumped 1.49m to break it at the Coca-Cola Games Suva Zone Two athletics competition at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva yesterday.
For her, as much as she reveled in her newfound fame and her accomplishment, she remembered the guidance of her late coach, Joseph “JJ” Rodan Junior, who passed away in January this year from illness.
The late Rodan Junior was her coach when she first jumped competitively in the sub-junior grade and this win was dedicated to him.
“I didn’t really expect to break the record but through prayer and hard work, I managed to break it and I give all glory back to God and I dedicate the win to my late coach Rodan.
“He trained me since I was a sub-junior and he made a big impact on my life because he always believed in me even when I didn’t always believe in myself.
“He always motivated us and he always let us know that we can do anything if we can believe in ourselves and he was like a second father to me and I’m sure to all the athletes and he was always motivational and he never gave up on us, whether we made mistakes or not.”
Meanwhile, May had been nervous about competing in the event since it had always been a challenging one since she first began in the sub-junior grade however she credited her faith in God and hard work as the tools to set her up for success.
