ATHLETICS Fiji national coach Albert Miller was particularly impressed with the performance of high jumper Pita Burese in day one of the Suva Zone 1 yesterday.
Burese, a senior high jumper of Sacred Heart College garnered the attention of the crowd when he cleared the bar at 1.95m, breaking a 29-year-old zone record set in 1996.
The previous record was 1.85m set in 1996 by Jonathan Appleby of International Secondary School.
Miller described Burese as the new find of the zone.
“I think it was a very outstanding jump. If you look at it 1.95m is the qualifying standard of the Pacific Mini Games and I’ve been watching the two different Suva Zones and so far that is one of the most impressive performances in the track and field events,” he said.
His performance has piqued the interest of the national coach who is keen to have him on his squad for the Pacific Mini Games.
“We invite him to our trials for the Easter Games and I’m sure his clearance for 195, he can easily make 2 meters. Unfortunately we are not accepting any results from the zones because there are a lot of inconsistencies in officiating but he has proven to be an abled high jumper.
“We can always include him (in the long list for PMG), he has a pretty impressive credentials and we can’t ignore that, I’m sure we can work around it and include him,” Miller added.
Burese who won gold, earned a place in the Fiji Finals and has a zone record to his name said this win was a work in progress.
“This is my third year. I started when I was in Year-10, and came third in Cokes that year. I tried last year and didn’t make it but I came today and I showed that I’ve learned from my mistakes from last year and I’ve achieved my goal,” he said.
