Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School (MGM) successfully defended its girls’ division crown at this year’s Coca‑Cola Games, finishing the three‑day athletics festival with 15 medals — 11 gold, four silver and two bronze — and extending a run of dominance that has seen the school claim the title for a third straight year.
Head coach Waliki Tiko Satakala paid tribute to the athletes after the Games ended yesterday, praising their commitment and the sacrifices behind the result. “To the athletes who have gone to greater lengths to try and secure the title for the third year running, we’d like to say thank you,” Satakala said. “Thank you for your dedication, thank you for your time and thank you for putting up with the demands. And it doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t come cheap.”
MGM held a firm lead on the medal table from the opening day on Thursday and consolidated that advantage with key victories in the track events across the weekend. The school’s sustained performance handed them a comfortable margin over rivals as the competition reached its final day.
Ratu Sukuna Memorial School finished second in the girls’ standings with three gold, two silver and two bronze medals, while Adi Cakobau School placed third, taking home three gold, one silver and five bronze. The placings underline a competitive upper tier in the girls’ division, but MGM’s depth and consistency proved decisive across sprints and middle‑distance events.
At the boys’ end of the meet a long wait for one traditional powerhouse finally ended — Queen Victoria School topped the boys’ division, collecting 10 gold, 11 silver and seven bronze medals to claim a title the school had not won in 33 years. The victory marked one of the biggest storylines from the three days of athletics and festivities that drew schools from across the country.
Satakala said MGM’s boys showed encouraging signs but remain a work in progress. “Slowly building up the team and eventually they will get there in maybe the next two years,” he said, signaling the school’s broader development plans as athletes return to their campus on Fletcher Road in Vatuwaqa, Suva.
MGM’s latest success builds on a programme that has invested in sprinting and youth development. Earlier this year MGM sprinter Lydia Waqairapoa was highlighted as a rising figure in the school’s sprint ranks, a sign of the pipeline that has helped the school sustain its strong showings at zone meets and at the Coca‑Cola Games.