BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
SOLOMON Islands sprinter Luke Haga is currently preparing to compete in the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championship in Suva, Fiji, from June 4th to June 8th.
Haga expressed his happiness to represent the Solomon Islands and eagerly anticipates performing his best at the championship in an exclusive interview with RAWSPORT.
“I’m happy to represent my country and looking forward to a new personal best (PB) in my events. It’s going to be tough, but I will not back down; I’ll do my best. Asking for continuous support from the public for every one of us. We are here not because of our talent but because of our love for the sport and our beloved country, the Solomon Islands,’’ Haga said.
The 27-year-old expressed confidence in his readiness to compete based on his personal training efforts and the challenges he faced.
“My preparation is not that enough because my coaches are not with me every day to see my progress, to correct, to emphasize, to help in my training programs, to direct, and to give me encouragement in my preparation.
“But, with my own efforts and those who are always with me in training, especially my teammates, I believe I’m ready for the competition. Though it’s not that intense training due to some issues with our training grounds, I hope I can perform my best in this competition,” Haga said.
The young sprinter achieved personal bests in the 200-meter sprint and 100-meter semis at the past PG2023 in Honiara, qualifying for the finals.
Haga confirmed that eight athletes will represent the Solomon Islands at this year’s Athletics Oceania championship.
“Jovinta and I arrived today in Fiji (Tuesday, May 28). All the rest will come later. We are a total of eight athletes. Today (Wednesday, May 28), we will attend the Leadership and Wellbeing Forum. After that, we’ll get ready to compete in the Oceania Championship.
“The purpose of the Leadership and Wellbeing Forum is to learn more about leadership roles and the wellbeing of athletes. I hope to learn more from the forum. This is a 3-day forum,’’ he said.
“All in all, we are not here alone; God is the one who sends us here, and thus, we put our trust in him representing our country, the Solomon Islands,’’ Haga said.
