After a 33-year wait Queen Victoria School (QVS) has reclaimed the Coca‑Cola Games overall boys’ championship, ending a decades‑long drought with a haul of 10 gold, 11 silver and seven bronze medals at this year’s national secondary schools athletics meet.
The breakthrough was hailed by QVS sprints coach and former Pacific sprint champion Banuve Tabacaucoro, who credited the victory to what he called the “Vulinitu spirit” and a sustained, collective effort behind the scenes. “It wasn’t much, it was just our off‑season programme and getting the right technical coaches in the right events and just working a lot more with our boys than usual,” Tabacaucoro said, adding that parents, old boys and support staff all played a part. “There was a lot of time spent with the boys behind the scenes, not just the technical coaches but from the mothers as well, the old boys. It was a collective effort.”
Tabacaucoro, who coached QVS into the title alongside head coach Josua Lesu and team manager Mr Bole, also expressed personal gratitude to school leadership and volunteers who re‑energised the programme. “I just want to thank the principal for giving me this opportunity and the 2002 task force for roping me in again this year. I’m so thankful for this opportunity,” he said, describing “mixed emotions” after the historic win. He stressed his commitment to service, noting he remains “always a Marist boy” by background but is proud to be part of QVS’s achievement.
The success represents the culmination of a strategy first reported late last year when Tabacaucoro launched a structured off‑season sprint plan at QVS. That programme was designed to professionalise training, bring in specialist coaches and build athlete depth — changes that now look to have paid dividends at the country’s premier schools athletics meet. Earlier season results that spotlighted promising sprinters had hinted at improvement, and the Coca‑Cola Games provided the platform for QVS athletes to convert potential into podium finishes across multiple events.
While QVS celebrated its long‑awaited boys’ title, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial School continued to dominate the girls’ side, securing the overall girls’ championship for a third consecutive year. The girls amassed 15 gold, eight silver and six bronze medals, underlining the school’s sustained excellence in female school athletics.
The double narrative — QVS’s return to the summit after three decades and Mahatma Gandhi’s sustained run of girls’ success — highlights shifting dynamics in Fiji’s school athletics landscape. For QVS, the title is both an end to a long wait and a validation of new training methods and community support; for Mahatma Gandhi Memorial School, it is reinforcement of a consolidated programme that has maintained top performance across multiple seasons.
As schools and coaches reflect on the results, QVS’s victory will be studied by rivals and stakeholders keen to understand how off‑season structures, technical coaching placements and wider community involvement can translate into national success at the Coca‑Cola Games.