A gold medal at the Pacific Games in Samoa
Solomon Islands’ long-distance runner, Sharon Kikini Firisua, raced to victory in the women’s 10,000 metres race at the Pacific Games held in Samoa, a feat she also achieved in Port Moresby four years ago.
However, unlike in PNG, Sharon was joined on the podium by her compatriot Dianah Matekali, who won bronze.
The gold medallist led the other six athletes from almost the starting pistol and as the contest progressed, she broke away.
Her lead became such that in the twelfth lap out of 25, she overtook the runner in last place. One lap later and Sharon was 100 metres ahead of second place. Dianah was one of three in the chasing pack, along with athletes from Vanuatu and Fiji.
Sharon passed the finish line with a time of 41 minutes, 19.92 seconds. She was ahead of second by almost a minute.
A great winning performance by the two athletes and a fine achievement for the Solomon Islands.
Congratulations and well done Sharon and Dianah!
Source: Solomon Star News.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
