Team Fiji sprinter Waisake Tewa has been selected by Athletics Fiji for the 2024 World Indoor Championships. Thechampionships are set to take place from the 1st – 3rd March 2024 at the Commonwealth Arena in Glasgow,Scotland.

This is the 19th edition of the championships and will be the 3rd time for Scotland to host the championships, the biggest difference between the indoor and outdoor track seasons is the environment in which the sport takes place.

The indoor season, athletes race on a 200-meter track. During the outdoor season, athletes race on a 400-meter track. The smaller the track the fewer the events.
Selection was based on World Athletics Universiality rules where if no athlete has qualified for the championships, then 1 Universiality is allowed for only one athlete, male or female, in the 60m. And in this situation, Fiji had noone qualified and so the next best sprinter with higher performance points according to World Athletics was Waisake Tewa.

Tewa will be competing in the Men’s 60m sprint Friday 1st March. This will be his first ever indoor competition let alone his first ever international competition since his at the 2023 Pacific Games where he won 2 silver medals, Men’s 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay, and a 5th place finish in the final of the Men’s 100m.

The former Nakasi High School student made the switch from the 800m to the short sprints after “accidentally” qualifying for the 100m and 200m at last year’s Pacific Games Trials. Tewa is currently completing his certificate in Carpentry Engineering at the Fiji National University and has an impressive personal record in the 100m (10.71s), 200m (21.60s), 400m (49.87s) and 800m (1:59.00s) making him one of Fiji’s versatile male sprinters since Niko Verekauta.

Tewa who is being coached by Bola Tafo’ou of the Laucala Bay Athletics Club says that he is very nervous but at the same time excited as he will be looking to line up against some of the world’s best sprinters. He is expected to fly out on Tuesday 27th February with training partner and Tuvalu sprinter Karalo Maibuca.

_Athletics Fiji