ROKO Ilaisa Tabete signed off Team Fiji’s campaign in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, with a personal best in the men’s 400 metres hurdles yesterday.
Tabete clocked 57.79 seconds in the second semi-final at Complexe Iba Mar Diop, finishing sixth in his race as he brought Fiji’s competition at the Youth Olympic Games to a close.
His performance provided a positive finish to the campaign, with the personal best marking an important achievement for the young athlete on the international stage.
Team Fiji also had representatives in basketball and boxing during the final days of competition. The Fiji girls’ 3×3 basketball team completed its Pool A campaign on Friday with defeats against China and Kenya. The team went down 21-4 to China before putting up a stronger fight against Kenya narrowly losing 12-9.
In boxing, Merewalesi Kolitapa and Norman Arman competed in their respective round of 16 bouts at Dakar expo centre on Sunday. Kolitapa faced Japan’s Ayano Mochii in the women’s 60kg division, going the full three rounds before losing by a 4-1 split decision. One judge scored the contest in Kolitapa’s favor but the remaining two awarded the win to the better side.
