Despite the challenges and the odds stacked against him, Coca-Cola Taveuni Zone 100 metre champion and Holy Cross College athlete Mariselo Moceituba is ready to take on athletes from bigger schools at the 2024 Coca-Cola Games next week.
During an interview with fijivillage News, Moceituba says facing financial constraints, having limited resources and running on grass tracks is not going to deter him from trying his best against the top school athletes around Fiji.
Moceituba says some other challenges that he faced were running and training on the grass knowing he would need time to familiarise himself with running on rubber tracks at the HFC Bank Stadium.
He also says that changing his diet was really hard for him but he knows he has to make some sacrifices to achieve his goal. The athlete says they have had to reduce sugar, salt and oily food intake.
Holy Cross College was the overall Taveuni Zone winner.
Holy Cross College Team Manager Anamaria Raibici says 45 athletes will be coming to the Coca-Cola Games to give their all in the finals.
Raibici says they have some sponsors but they have also had to do some fundraising and students have had to pay as well.
She says they will be leaving on Thursday to be in Suva to familiarize themselves with the rubber tracks.
Meanwhile, Niusawa Methodist High School athlete Helen Naceba is the Taveuni Zone 100 metre senior girls champion. She finished with a manual time of 11.45 seconds.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the HFC Bank Stadium, Suva.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations