TOKYO, 20 JULY 2021 (ABC) – Cheyenne Rova has taken leave from her normal job, as a physical and health education teacher, to represent Fiji at the Olympics in Tokyo this year.
“[My students] are really excited,” she said.
This will be Rova’s first Olympic games and she’s has been training in her backyard pool to overcome lockdowns and a growing COVID-19 outbreak in her home country.
“This has been the weirdest preparation in swimming that I’ve ever had,” Rova said.
She said Olympic swimmers in the United States, Australia and other “bigger countries” had access to more tailored support, including dedicated sports psychologists and physiotherapists not available in Fiji.
Rova, along with more than 100 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from the Pacific, has received support from the Australian government in preparation for Tokyo.
She has recently been able to train in Sydney through the initiative, which has also helped other Pacific athletes coordinate their Olympic training and qualification schedules over the past month.
As the start of the Olympics inches closer Rova said she’s hoping to score not only a win but a best swimming time as well.
“Hopefully I can make that happen,” she said.
