A NIECE she misses and wished was closer is who Abigail Gonerogo of Swami Vivekananda College swam for at the Fiji Nationals Schools Swimming Championships, which began in Suva yesterday.
Gonerogo swam in the girls 13-19 200m backstroke event and came first with a time of 2 minutes 58.80 seconds while Charlima Simpson finished second with a time of 2m 58.99s and Samo’ana Powell in third with 3m 2.69s.
When asked who she dedicated her win in her first event of the competition, she did so to her niece in Nadi.
“I dedicate my race to my niece in Nadi; I miss her and I want to see her,” Gonerogo stated.
Preparing for the national championships meant having to devote time towards her studies and training equally, and the strict schedule for both engagements were hard to balance however she was able to do so.
“We started training during the short tests last term and swe had to leave before the last two period, so I had to catch up on all the work there,” she explained.
“It was hard trying to attend all the sessions, because we had to train every day but I still could make some sessions and that was nice.”
What drove her to put the pedal to the metal on her preparations and her journey into the championships were her teammates, such as the senior swimmers who were competing for SVC for the final time.
“I was just telling myself this is for the team because a lot of our seniors whose final year is this year, they want the title back so I’m just trying to aim high,” she emphasised.
