Korovuto College student Vishant Reddy says he will be representing his family from the small village in Nadi when he features for Fiji in the upcoming Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.
Reddy will be representing Fiji in the 1500 metres, 800 metres and 4 x 400 metres events.
Reddy says he was not into athletics at first because he loved playing football, and when he was first approached about athletics, his first response was no.
He says it took the coaches three years to convince him to try long-distance running.
The 18-year-old says he never considered running because there were big names in athletics, and he was scared to compete against them.
He further says he was in Year 11 when he first tried for the 800 metres event, and to his surprise, he broke the record during the Lautoka Zone.
Reddy also recalled that he still could not believe that he had the ability to run competitively.
Due to COVID-19, there were no secondary school athletics competitions, but this did not stop Reddy from working to improve his newfound passion for athletics.
Last year, Reddy took on the 1500 metres and 800 metres events in the Intermediate Grade, breaking records in both events at the Zone competitions before taking out medals at the Coca-Cola Games.
This year, Reddy wanted to try the 3,000 metres event but was told he could not achieve this.
He then went all the way to win a gold medal in the Coca-Cola Games in April this year drawing inspiration from his grandparents, parents and his coaches.
The Pacific Games will be held from 19th November to the 2nd of December in the Solomon Islands.
Source: FASANOC
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