Team Fiji’s last athlete to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games was Leslie Copeland who we looked forward to his competition today in the Athletics Men’s Javelin Throw “A” Group Qualification. Leslie threw a massive 80.19m producing his seasons best that placed him 6th amongst the best Javelin throwers in the world in his Group A. This stunned several of his competitors who asked ‘where did this guy come from’. Leslie had to wait patiently for nearly two hours to see his final position after the “B” Group competition.
Only the top 12 throwers in total from both groups qualify for the Final Round and medal play-off which will be held on Saturday. This was a nail-biting situation as a few athletes began throwing over the 80m mark. Slowly Leslie’s position slipped to 13th putting him out of contention for the medal challenge. The German thrower, Tino Haber claimed the 12th position with a throw of 80.39m, a mere 20cm better then Leslie.
Going into the competition Leslie’s personal best throw ranked him as 40th out of the 44 competitors. The final overall standing saw Leslie ranked in 13th position. A remarkable achievement that Team Fiji is very proud of.
Leslie was disappointed for just missing out making the finals but on a brighter side, he was ahead of many top ranking throwers including World champions and the silver medallist from the 2008 Olympic Games.
He is putting this experience behind him and intends to work extra hard towards the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Photo:
Leslie walks away (far right) whilst his throw is recorded on the official board
Last Modified on 30/08/2012 13:11
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