Fiji Paralympian Naibili Vatunisolo has set a new Oceania record in shot put, achieving a distance of 9.19 meters at the Paris Paralympic Games held at Stade de France last week. Upon her arrival at Nadi Airport, Vatunisolo expressed her surprise at the achievement, stating, “I was shocked when they told me that I had set the new Oceania record.”
She noted the challenging conditions, mentioning that the rain made the shot put slippery and affected her performance. Competing in a combined class of F42, F44, and F64 with a total of 15 athletes, Vatunisolo placed 10th and reflected, “I could have done better if it was not for the rain,” adding that despite the weather, the competition had to proceed. Fellow competitor Selina Seau finished in 14th place.
Vatunisolo’s personal best prior to this event was 9.05 meters. The F42-44 classification includes athletes with lower limb deficiencies competing without prosthesis, while the F61-64 classification features those with lower limb impairments competing with prosthesis.
After a long season of training and competitions, the 2022 Commonwealth Games Fiji flag bearer mentioned her plans to take a few weeks off before preparing for the upcoming 2025 World Championship and Palau Mini Games. She expressed hope for more local competitors to inspire and motivate each other, stating, “There is hardly competition; if there were any, we could be setting more records.”
Earlier in the year, Vatunisolo secured a gold medal in the women’s shot put Ambulatory Para Category with a score of 77.75 at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva. She also earned a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, and claimed another bronze in shot put at Sols23 with a throw of 7.97 meters.