The Fiji Times

Champions play their cards right

Team Fiji men’s rugby 7s coach Gareth Baber played his cards right to guide the side to gold medal victory at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Baber changed his line-up from the third pool game onwards to keep the opposition guessing about their game plan. Fiji 7s head coach Gareth Baber said every decision he made on team selection was strategic. Baber said...

Team uses the Hero’s Journey in buildup

Team Fiji men’s rugby 7s players went through many story templates of the “Hero’s Journey” in their buildup to successfully defend the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The “Hero’s Journey” involves a person or a team that goes on an adventure, learns a lesson, wins a victory and with that newfound knowledge, then returns home transformed. National 7s head coach Gareth Baber said he tried to create...

Baber praises leadership qualities of Radradra

The leadership qualities provided by Bristol Bears star Semi Radradra was enough to bear down the stress of being in an enclosed arena such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games athletes’ village. Radradra did not get much game time during the rugby 7s competition at the event, but scored a decisive try against Argentina in the 26-14 semi-final victory. Fiji 7s head coach Gareth Baber...

Ben’s vision rings true for Fijiana

Ben Ryan, 2016 Olympic Games gold medal-winning head coach’s prophetic prediction that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games would be the year of the Fijiana was spot on. During the 2016 celebrations of the win at the ANZ Stadium, Ryan paid homage to the Fijiana 7s team for the hard work they had put in going...

Ho passes away

Former International Table Tennis Federation-Oceania president and Fiji Table Tennis Association president Anthony Ho has passed away. Ho who was born on Thursday, November 24, 1960, passed away on the morning of Thursday, July 29, 2021, at the age of 60 years old. Commencing from his teenage years, Ho was dedicated to the sport of table tennis and only recently had his...

Baber pleased with Jerry and Naca

The experience provided by strength and conditioning coach Nacanieli Cawanibuka and captain courageous Jerry Tuwai from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games was beneficial in the Team Fiji rugby men’s 7s success at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Fiji defeated New Zealand 27-12 in the final to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Stadium last Wednesday. The side created history by winning the gold medal back to back....

Weightlifting-China matches record with seven golds at one Games

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – China won its sixth and seventh gold medals in weightlifting on Monday, matching Russia’s record from the 1976 Games, as Li Wenwen and Wang Zhouyu triumphed in the women’s heaviest weight categories at Tokyo 2020. The 21-year-old Li had a dominant lead in the +87kg event, lifting 320kg in total...

Soccer-Canada stun U.S. to set up final with Sweden

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – Canada stunned world champions the United States on Monday, handing them a shock 1-0 defeat in the semi-finals of the women’s Olympic football tournament to set up a clash with Sweden in Friday’s showpiece match. The Swedes beat Australia 1-0 thanks to a 46th-minute goal from Fridolina Rolfo to return...

Athletics-American Allman all smiles after winning discus gold

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – One throw was all it took for the Valarie Allman of the United States to win Olympic gold in the women’s discus on Monday, with an effort of 68.98 metres. Germany’s Kristin Pudenz had a personal best 66.86 metres for silver and Cuba’s Yaime Perez took bronze with 65.72. It...

Weightlifting-Hubbard makes history as first transgender Olympian, but exits early

TOKYO, Aug 2 (Reuters) – New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard made history on Monday by becoming the first openly transgender athlete to compete at an Olympic Games, but she suffered a disappointing early exit from the women’s +87 kg final after three no lifts in the snatch. At 43, Hubbard was the oldest competitor in the...

Organisers investigating after athletes drinking violates COVID-19 curbs

Tokyo Games organisers said they are investigating after a group of athletes were found drinking alcohol in the Olympic village this week, violating measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The athletes were caught drinking in a park in the athletes’ village on Friday night, Tokyo 2020 CEO Toshiro Muto told a news conference, adding...

Athletics-Jackson out of 200m after rookie heats blunder

Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson will not be able to add to her bronze from the 100 metres after a terrible error in the heats of the 200 on Monday, where she eased up too much and was overhauled on the line to finish fourth. Jackson, third-fastest in the world over the distance this year, did not...

IOC says looking into gesture used by U.S. athlete Saunders on podium

The International Olympic Committee is looking into the gesture U.S. athlete Raven Saunders made after the shot put silver medallist raised her arms in an X above her head, a potential breach of rules banning protests on medal podiums. The IOC is in contact with World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport, and...

Wrestling-Mensah-Stock stuns defending champ Dosho, marches into semis

Reigning world champion Tamyra Mensah-Stock stormed into the semi-finals of the women’s wrestling competition with consummate ease on Monday, winning both her matches by technical superiority on her Olympic debut without dropping a point. The United States’ Mensah-Stock took just over two minutes to overpower 2016 Olympic champion Sara Dosho of Japan in a 10-0...

Italy hails new sprint king as drama unfolds at airport

Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the most coveted crown in athletics on Sunday, giving Italy its first 100 metres gold on a night of high drama in Tokyo. As Jacobs stormed to the first Olympic title of the post-Usain Bolt era, the fate of a Belarusian sprinter’s Tokyo Games was playing out at a nearby airport....

Seeking asylum, Belarus athlete walks into Poland’s embassy in Tokyo

A Belarusian athlete who refused to board a flight after she said she was taken to the airport against her wishes walked into Poland’s embassy in Tokyo on Monday. read more Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, 24, would seek asylum with Poland, said a member of the local Belarus community who was in touch with her. The sprinter...

Fijiana ends Tokyo campaign on a high note

It was the stuff of fairytales as the Fijiana 7s team ended a glorious Olympics campaign securing the nation’s third medal with a 21-12 bronze finish against Great Britain in Tokyo on Saturday night. After knocking out Australia in the quarter-finals and hard done by New Zealand in the semis, it was a sweet end as our bronze winners ran in three converted tries to secure their place...

Dream comes true for Solikoviti

Support your girls. This was the message from Paula Solikoviti, Fijiana 7s rep Vasiti Solikoviti’s father as the side made history at the Tokyo Olympics by bringing home a bronze medal. Solikoviti said Vasiti had always dreamt of winning a medal at the Olympics and that dream was only made possible through the support of her family and her faith in God. “She...

All for Fiji – Determination, passion key to victory

Olympics Games bronze medal winning captain Rusila Nagasau said it was the sheer determination and passion for the Fijiana 7s jersey and the nation that brought them through against Great Britain. Speaking after the 22-12 bronze medal match win Nagasau said her teammates put everything on the table for that one. “We came here on a mission and that was to win the gold...

Tokyo Olympics: It was the race of his life – then he fell

Isaiah Jewett wanted to show the world who he is, and he believed the place to do it would be the final of the men’s 800 metres. In the past three months, he had graduated from USC, won an NCAA championship and, with a bold move, pulled an upset to make the toughest team in...

Tokyo Olympics: ‘Unbelievable’ – Italy’s Jacobs reacts to shock 100m sprint gold

Lamont Marcell Jacobs became the first Italian to win the most coveted crown in athletics, in a shock victory in the men’s 100m final. Gianmarco Tamberi made it double gold for Italy with an emotional, and unusual, high jump victory. Until the Tokyo Olympics few Italians had even heard of Jacobs, who has made impressive...

Zverev finally takes global title

World number five Alexander Zverev won the biggest title of his career when he crushed Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-1 to win the men’s singles gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. The 24-year-old, who has yet to win a Grand Slam title, was in stunning form as he demolished Khachanov in 79 minutes to become...

Schauffele finally wins big

American Xander Schauffele held on despite a record-breaking round by Rory Sabbatini to win gold at the Olympics. Schauffele rallied after a bogey on the par-5 14th hole to shoot a 4-under 67 to finish the tournament at 18-under 266. Sabbatini, of Slovakia, fired an Olympic-record 10-under 61 but had to settle for a second-place...

Hail Fijiana! – PM: Girls begin a new chapter in women’s rugby

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama believes the historic bronze medal achievement by the Fijiana has set a precedent that young girls in Fiji will now wish to emulate. In his social media post, Bainimarama said the country had now witnessed a legacy in the making from our Fijiana in Tokyo. He said ahead of the Rio Olympics, there were 200 registered women rugby players in Fiji....

Olympics-Belarusian sprinter says she was taken to airport after criticising officials

A Belarusian sprinter has appealed to the International Olympic Committee for help, claiming her country’s officials are trying to fly her home from the Olympics against her will. Krystsina Tsimanouskaya says she was taken from her hotel to Tokyo airport, after criticising Belarus Olympic team managers on social media. Tsimanouskaya, who was due to compete...

Fijiana’s bronze win in Tokyo demonstrates immense talent of Fijians – Narube

Former Reserve Bank of Fiji governor and Unity Fiji Party leader Savenaca Narube says the performance by the Fijiana women’s 7s rugby team in Tokyo spoke volume of the significant talent of the Fijian people. He said to emerge from the lower half of the seeded teams in the competition only to narrowly miss out...

Rugby-Kolisi says Lions decider brings more pressure than World Cup final

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa captain Siya Kolisi says next Saturday’s series decider against the British & Irish Lions in Cape Town is potentially more important than their Rugby World Cup final win over England two years ago. The Springboks levelled the three-match series with a bruising, ill-tempered 27-9 second-test victory over the Lions...

Olympics-Sailing-Choosing sailing over ‘footy’ pays off for Australian Wearns

ENOSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) – Matt Wearns’s decision as a promising young athlete to choose sailing over Australian Rules football paid off handsomely at the Enoshima Yachting Harbour on Sunday when he was crowned Olympic champion in the men’s Laser class. Wearns started the competition poorly but bounced back with a superb stretch of results in...

Olympics-Swimming-Dressel caps off ‘terrifying’ Games with fifth gold

TOKYO (Reuters) – Caeleb Dressel brought the curtain down on his Tokyo Games by winning a fifth gold medal on Sunday and said that the high expectations, pressure to perform and a rollercoaster ride of emotions had made the Olympics a “terrifying” experience. The American won the men’s 50m freestyle on Sunday by nearly half...

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Ben’s vision rings true