The Reporters’ Academy ventured to the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, where Sisi was having a medical screening and biomechanical analysis. This sports-­‐science aid is extended to the Pacific athletes, as part of the support provided by the North West training camps. Bryan Jones of the University of Central Lancashire, who are hosting a number of vital camps, said, “we want to make sure that we are doing things that are contributing to Sisi’s performance, trying to minimise injury and maximise motivation”.

Sisi has an inspirational story, having competed in the 2004, 2008 Olympics and is a Commonwealth bronze medallist. Since beginning judo, Sisi has repeatedly fulfilled her aspirations, even achieving her goal of competing in Japan by her 21st birthday “After that, I was setting my goals higher, and higher, and every time I kept achieving them.”

Sisi trained in Japan for eight years, and more interestingly, she didn’t speak a word of Japanese. She explained, “For most of the time I was training on my own. I was learning from what I could see, because I didn’t know what they were saying. I just wish that I could change the eight years back, to be here”.

Sisi has recently had a daughter, left in Fiji in the care of her husband. “It’s really hard, thinking of my baby back home. She’s my first baby and I love her so much. But I also have this hunger for the games”. Her dedication to her sport is obvious, but her inspiration has stemmed from thinking of her family. “It’s making me feel stronger”, she remarked.

Her coach, Mike Liptrot from The Dojo, Kendal Judo Club, highlights the benefits of her visit to the North West, “Sisi’s training is going well. The camps have provided her with a volume of quality partners, personal coaching, strength and conditioning training and a sports-­‐science environment”. He has recently taken Sisi to gain some competition experience in Paris, allowing her to take partin the Grand Slam event in preparation for the Olympic qualifiers. As well as experience, the camps provide specialist training for the athletes, and for Sisi, it has introduced her to ‘conditioning’, something that she has never come across in all her years as a professional athlete.

Eagerly drawing from her experience of a number of years in elite sport, Sisi wants to become a coach back at home, to pass on the knowledge she has gained “I don’t want to waste my talents, so I want to go back home and do some coaching and train a new Olympic athlete at home”.

Speaking to her about this year’s Olympics, Sisi is hopeful to qualify, “This year I’ll be at my best”.

The sacrifice Sisi makes for her dreams tells the story of a dedicated world-­‐class athlete, whose hopes for the future show a show a dedication to the sporting youth of her country. As a future coach, she will be creating that all important Olympic
legacy.