FASANOC
Fiji Triathlon has identified its two athletes that will represent the country during the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games following the last trials held earlier on 15 April, 2023.
Fiji Triathlon has identified its two athletes that will represent the country during the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games following the last trials held earlier on 15 April, 2023.
National Triathlon coach Angus Pattie said they held time trials from as early as last year with the final trials held at Vuda Marina on 15 April, 2023-where they were able to identify one male and female allowed by the CYG.
The athletes will be competing at the Games in the super sprint event which is a shortened version of a normal triathlon event.
"This is a 375 metre swim, a 10 km bike race and a two and a half km run," he said.
Angus said preparations have been going well for their athletes, which started with the Pacific Islands Triathlon Championship held in Fiji last year.
"We had top athletes from around the Pacific take part in the Championship and a level three coach from Australia conducted a weeklong coaching course before the Championship competition started." he said.
"The course was similar to what we expect our athletes to face when they are at the Commonwealth Youth Games, so it was good experience for them."
Angus said both athletes met the criteria set by the National Federation and now they are hopeful that both athletes will be competitive.
"It's a new experience for our athletes, where they will be up against athletes in their own age group.
"Obviously these athletes have better facilities and have been doing competitive in the sport a bit longer than ours. We just want our athletes to go and do their utmost best.
"Anything can happen, there is no pressure on them but to do their best," he said.
Angus said the biggest challenge for the sport was facilities, however they were grateful to Vuda Marina for allowing them to hold events.
"Its' not like overseas, our road conditions are not the best but we make do with what we have.
"We tell our athletes to go out there and go for it, but at the same time be safe on the roads," he said.
The chosen athletes will have will now await confirmation by Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee's (FASANOC) Selection Justification Commission and approval through FASANOC's Board of Management.
Non selected athletes will have an opportunity to appeal the decision as per FASANOC's Selection Justification Appeals Policy if they wish. The provision in the policy states that "athletes and officials have an opportunity to appeal their cases if they feel they have been unfairly deprived of the opportunity to represent their sport/country as a member of a Fiji representative Team under the jurisdiction of FASANOC."
Triathlon has been included in the sport programme of the Commonwealth Youth Games 2023 in Trinidad and Tobago and will feature athletes from all Commonwealth countries aged 14-18.
Triathlon will make its debut in the Commonwealth Youth Games, with medal events for men and women.
The other sports included in the programme are Aquatics (swimming), Athletics, Cycling, Fast5 Netball, Rugby Sevens and Beach Volleyball. Fiji has been invited to participate in all the sports except for Netball and Beach Volleyball.
The competition will take place in two clusters, one in Couva, Trinidad and the other Tobago, to bring a diverse perspective of the twin island country to the nations of the Commonwealth, as well as showcase a festival of the country’s activities.
The Games were initially scheduled between 1 and 7 August 2021 but were postponed as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic and scheduling issues with the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
The Games will be held from 4 to 11 August 2023.
