Firisua misses training through headache

BY ROMULUS HUTA

SOLOMON Islands long distance female runner Sharon Firisua missed yesterday’s training session as she is being diagnosed for headache and dizziness in Gold Coast.

Firisua is amongst the four member-Solomon Islands athletics team to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games currently underway in Australia.

Speaking to SunSPORTS yesterday, Firisua said she is experiencing headache and dizziness caused by not having enough sleeps due to noise disturbances caused by drunken athletes at the Games Village.

Drunken athletes involve those ones who have already completed their competitions.

“I did not sleep well last night due to noises caused by drunken athletes from 12am to 4am in the morning and came out this morning (yesterday) feeling sick.

“I went to the health centre by myself and was given treatment.

“No coach, team manager or the Chef de Mission came to check up on me since the whole morning until now and I’m resting all alone by myself in my room going through this headache,” she said last night.

Firisua will compete on Saturday 4.20pm local time in the women’s 5,000m at the Carrara Stadium tracks taking on 19 other opponents including Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games silver medallist Hellen Obiri of Kenya.

Firisua added she was advised by her Melbourne-based coach to miss training yesterday and today to recover well ahead of her competition on Saturday.

“My Melbourne coach checked up on me to see if I’m okay and advised me to rest.

“If my condition improves tomorrow (today) then I will get back to training.

“Training will depend very much on my condition.

“If I feel better tomorrow (today) then I will train in the afternoon.”

Firisua, being the pacific region’s champion in the women’s 5000m is not placing too much pressure on herself to stand on the medal’s podium in Gold Coast but plans on running her own race, just like she did at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil, Firisua decided to soak up the Olympic atmosphere and run her own private race after realizing early on she didn’t have the speed to keep up with the rest of the pack.

Firisua emerged from the Olympics 5000m with a new national and Pacific record.

She surpassed her previous best set at the 2015 Pacific Games by almost 18.5 seconds to finish in a time of 18 minutes and 1.62 seconds.

And plans to better her personal best time when she competes this Saturday.

The decorated Solomon Islands long distance runner did not had the best of preparations leading up to Gold Coast and admits it be more realistic for her to try and beat her personal best timing in the 5000m event.

“As for me, I will just go for my personal best as the commonwealth games is very tough,” she said.

“This year was my toughest so far as an athlete as I took a long break from training after the Pacific Mini Games last December.

“Like I said, my personal best and a national record are ones I’m after.”

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