From not making the top eight in the immediate girls’ discus event last year to winning gold and smashing a six-year-old record, Brienna Rabakewa of Swami Vivekananda College is a force to be reckoned with.
The 17-year-old from Nairai, Lomaiviti with maternal links to Wainibuka, Tailevu proved that nothing is impossible if one sets their mind to achieving their goal.
She threw a distance of 42.54m to shatter the record of 37.10m set in 2018 by Katarina Maivilase of Napuka Secondary School.
Rabakewa said that last year at the Coca-Cola Games she didn’t even make top eight in the same grade and event but was fortunate to have qualified for the South Pacific Games and won a bronze medal at the age of 16 in the open women discus event.
“This is my new personal best, better than my throw in the South Pacific Games so I hope that I can represent Fiji again in the Oceania under-18 grade competition,” she said.
“I sort of expected to break the record because the record was 37.10m and I had been throwing more than that, so it wasn’t a surprise.
“My personal best was 42.10m and I have beaten that by a few centimetres to get 42.54m.
“I have nothing else to say but to only thank the Lord for his guidance throughout my journey, because of him I was able to make a difference today.
“I let him lead the way and, in every throw, would acknowledge him by praying.
“Coming into the competition I tried not to worry about who I was going to compete with, the surrounding and who the crowd were cheering for and just focused on bettering myself – which I did.”
She is the first female field athlete to lead the SVC team as its captain to the Coca-Cola Games.
She said the preparation for the Coca-Cola Games was good.
“I tried not to be distracted, especially the whole week building up to the competition,” she said.
“I tried to get off social media and I even turned down interviews because I wanted to just focus on my training.
“Training has been strict so it was from home to school and back.
“I have a good support system; my parents are so supportive and the extended family.”
After winning gold she couldn’t wait to call her family and talk to them about the win.
“I dedicate the win to my dad and mum and the extended family that have been supporting me, also my coaches and my cousin sister who competed with me and came fourth in the same competition.”
She hopes that being the first field female captain of the school’s athletics team will motivate students to represent the school in the field events in the future.
In the same event, Loata Lewageena of Ratu Sukuna Memorial School also broke the record with a throw of 41.79m and won silver for her school while St Joseph’s Secondary School’s Sinairi Erasito threw a distance of 36.89m to win bronze.
