Isireli Naikelekelevesi was nominated by the Fiji Amateur Athletics Federation to be its individual male athlete of the year in the Fiji Islands Awards night on January 29.
According to an article published by The Fiji Times on January 6, 2000, Naikelekelevesi had won two gold medals in the South Pacific Games in Guam the year before.
His first was in the 800 metres where he set a games record, national record and was the South Pacific’s best in the event with a time of one minute and 49.54 seconds.
Naikelekelevesi showed great leadership qualities to his fellow long-distance runners.
When a coach was not available, he helped other athletes using the experience he got while training for a year with other Fijian athletes in the US.
For his efforts, he was rewarded by being chosen as the long-distance captain at the Guam games.
He was chosen by the Fiji Amateur Sports National Olympic Committee to undergo further training in Australia to enable him to meet qualifying standards for the 2000 Olympics.
After being left out of the US Athletic program by the Ministry of Sports, Naikelekelevesi proved to everyone that without a coach, he was able to become the best 800 and 1500 metres runner in the South Pacific.
