THEY came, they saw and they conquered.
Latter Day Saints Secondary (LDSS) sub-junior 4x100 metres relay team ensured they made a golden debut at the Coca-Cola Games competition on Saturday at the National Stadium in Suva.
Sprinters Kaveni Balenacagi, Solomoni Namalo, Niumaia Vitinavulagi and Tevita Qaqa could not contain their excitement after they finished first in the closely competed race. They were determined to finish on top from the very beginning and their spirit remained the same despite tough contest from other schools.
Namalo, who also won the gold medal in the sub-junior 400m and silver in the sub-junior 200m event, said he would not have asked for anything better than this. The youngster said hard work and sacrifice of the team paid off with the gold medal win. The quartet finished the race in 53.71 seconds ahead of Rampur and Xavier College, who were placed second and third, respectively.
"It's a really exciting thing for me. To win gold medal in my debut year is something I have been dreaming of," Namalo said. Youngest of all in age and height, Qaqa, who was also the anchor runner for the team, said all he thought about was the finishing line after receiving the baton from Vitinavulagi.
"I was like afraid a bit but when I saw I was in front, I kept going. I knew it was the finishing line that was the next stop for me."
Vitinavulagi said they wanted to stay together and continue winning medals in the upcoming Fiji Finals.
He added through God's will, everything was possible. "We are planning to stay together as a team and continue representing our school in the upcoming secondary school athletics finals," Vitinavulagi said.
"We know God gave us the strength and power to compete and He will continue to do so in the upcoming competitions."