Fiji Paralympian Naibili Vatunisolo set a new Oceania record by throwing the shot put 9.19 meters during the Paris Paralympic Games at Stade de France last Thursday. Upon her arrival at Nadi Airport yesterday, Vatunisolo expressed her surprise at achieving the record, stating, “I was shocked when they told me that I had set the new Oceania record.”
She acknowledged the challenging conditions, noting that the rain made the shot put slippery, which affected her performance. Competing in a combined class of F42, F44, and F64 categories, Vatunisolo finished in 10th place out of 15 athletes, suggesting her performance could have been better without the rain. “Then that is how things go, although it was raining the game had to go on,” she remarked.
Her fellow athlete, Selina Seau, placed 14th in the event. Vatunisolo’s personal best prior to the competition was 9.05 meters. The F42-44 class includes athletes with lower limb impairments competing without prosthetics, while the F61-64 class consists of those competing with prosthetics due to limb deficiencies.
Reflecting on her training, Vatunisolo mentioned, “It has been a long session of trainings and competitions and I hope to take a few weeks off before I resume training to prepare for the 2025 World Championship and Palau Mini Games.” She highlighted the need for more local competitors to foster greater competition, stating, “There is hardly competition; if there were any, we could be setting more records.”
Earlier this year, Vatunisolo claimed gold in the women’s shot put Ambulatory Para Category with a score of 77.75 at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva. She also secured a bronze medal in shot put at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and achieved another bronze medal at Sols23 with a throw of 7.97 meters.