It is Day 5 of pool competition, and it is the final day here at the Faleata Aquatic Center in Apia for the 2019 Pacific Games Swimming. Fiji Swimming after an exhilarating week of competition and historic achievements, completes their final day of competition on an admirable high with the following achievements:
- 1 x Gold – Taichi Vakasama in the Men’s 100m Breastroke
- 1 x Gold – Moana Wind in the Women’s 100m Breastroke
- 1 x Silver – Epeli Rabua in the Men’s 100m Breastroke
- 1 x Silver – Matelita Buadromo in the Women’s 400m Freestyle
- 1 x Silver – Netani Ross, Taichi Vakasama, Matelita Buadromo, Yolani Blake in the 4 x50m Medley Relay.
- 1 x Bronze – Temafa Yalimaiwai in the Men’s 100m Butterfly
- 1 x Bronze – Rosemarie Rova in the Women’s 200m Butterfly
- 1 x Bronze – Yolani Blake in the Women’s 50m Freestyle
That sums up to a total of eight medals on Day 5 alone. What an incredible achievement! The team closes the final day of competition on a positive note, really leaving all they had in the pool, as they had initially set out to do. The attitudes going into competition on Tuesday July 9th and even earlier on July 8th for the Open Water swimmers, were ambitious and hopeful. The team had been training tirelessly over many years, and will continue to because results from these Games have proven that it takes years of training, commitment and support to get here.
Congratulations to the individual swimmers, team officials including Coaches and Management. The team will be returning to Fiji soon, and will be returning to Fiji in time to prepare for the Short Course season at home starting in August. Some will continue to the 18th FINA Worlds in Gwangju, Korea in late July, while some are preparing for the FINA World Junior Championships in Budapest later in August. Fiji Swimming thanks all our Pacific Games athletes and officials, and wish our upcoming touring teams all the very best.
