OCEANIA weightlifting coach Paul Coffa has labelled young Julia Ana Timi a star athlete of the future.
The 16-year-old Fiji rep recently returned from a 10-day training camp at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in New Caledonia where she was under the watchful eyes of Coffa.
Star weightlifting sensation Manueli Tulo and Maria Liku were also trained by Coffa and now Timi, who has impressed Coffa, is proving to be a possible candidate for a scholarship to the OWI in New Caledonia.
"The Oceania Talent Identification Program Training Camp was an outstanding success. I doubt whether any other sports in the region have any programs such as this," Coffa said. He said Timi could be one of Fiji's top athletes at the 2014 Olympic Youth Games in China.
"Julia is a future world class lifter. Her technique is excellent, she cleaned and jerked her best ever of 86kg and then she went on to clean 91kg. She is eligible for the Olympic Youth Games to be held in China in 2014 and also the Olympic Youth qualification to be held in Suva," he said.
Over 3000 students participated at the program.
Timi was selected when she topped the Oceania Talent Identification Program clean and jerk competition from the 400 students who participated in Ovalau last August.
She won a bronze medal at the 2011 Pacific Games in Noumea.