ANOTHER record breaking performance from Ratu Banuve Tabakaucoro has fuelled his desire to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games to be hosted in Rio, Brazil.
The Bau Bullet set a new personal best time of 10.3s at the Oceania Athletics Championships in the Cook Islands last week.
The performance allowed him to break the event record of 10.46s which he had run in 2011.
But he improved his personal best to 10.33s during the Pacific Mini Games in Wallis and Futuna last year which was another meet record.
With his current time, he could be inching towards the Olympics but up next on his to-do list is the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland that begins on July 23 and concludes on August 3.
Tabakaucoro said he was not getting too far ahead of himself and was working according to priorities.
“Before we went to the Oceania Championship, I thought I wasn’t doing enough in training because I had a slow start to the year but this (record) shows that I did just enough,” he said.
“I’m excited about the time and I expect to go faster but I’m working with the time that I have now and looking forward to the big one in Glasgow.
“One thing I am trying very hard to avoid is injury because this is a big event for me and hopefully I stay injury free before and right up until my event at the Commonwealth Games.
“That is my only worry as I prepare for the event.”
The Digicel brand ambassador said he would have a realistic look at the 2016 Olympics after the competition at the Commonwealth Games.
The qualifying times for the 2016 Olympics has not been released yet but the 2012 qualifying time for the mens 100m event was 10.18s for Standard A and 10.24s for Standard B.
The qualifying times for the same event for the 2008 Olympics was 10.07s for Standard A and 10.28s for Standard B.
Athletes who attained the A standard time qualified automatically for the Olympics.
B standard athletes would only be included in the event if additional competed were needed to make the event more competitive because not enough athletes attained A standard qualification.
Tabakaucoro said if the qualifying time was somewhere around 10.2s or 10.25s then he would need to shave a second off his current personal best.
Meanwhile, the former Marist Brothers High Schools student was hosted by his major sponsors Digicel to celebrate his new record.
Acting Digicel Fiji chief executive Fareed Mohammed said the achievement was quite remarkable.
“It’s very joyful for us to be part of his success,” Mohammed said.
“Recently, we signed a new deal with him regarding monthly allowances to help him with his preparation for qualification for the 2016 Rio Olympics.”
Digicel has also provided one-year of free internet via Unwired for his whole house.
