SUVA: Three Fiji weightlifters have booked a spot in the Oceania Weightlifting Championship which will be held in May in Fiji.
The trio are Manueli Tulo, Apolonia Vaivai and Eileen Cikamatana. Looking at the past record helped them qualify for the event.
Tulo and Cikamatana are training with the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Mont Dore, New Caledonia, while Vaivai was part of the national championship at the National Fitness Centre in Suva.
Coach Josefa Vueti said they wanted to start off with final preparations for the competition.
"This was the final opportunity for the weightlifters to make it to the squad for the Oceania Weightlifting Championship," he added.
There will be three different teams which will include junior, youth and senior squads for the competitions.
"It is better to have early competition so that we have a lot of time to prepare. It is very important for the senior lifters to see how they have progressed through their training programs."
Vueti said the competition would be very tough for Fiji.
"These three weightlifters are already in the team and today (yesterday) they had to show their worth and that they are still at the top," he added.
"We still have eight more weeks to go for the Oceania competition and we will be looking at the strength of the individuals and capabilities of what they can achieve. I am aware of the overseas teams’ training program and they also want to qualify for the Olympic Games.
"There are a lot of supporters, families of the weightlifters who came to show their support."
(Fijian weightlifter Manueli Tulo winning his country’s first gold during the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby. Picture: FBC News)