Nehemiah Elder (left) and Zion Tokona

Two Fijian youth weightlifters, Nehemiah Elder and Zion Tokona, have etched their names on the international arena and are currently ranked top 10 in the world.

The duo, unfortunately, missed out on the World Youth Championships this year due to lack of funding.

Coach Henry Elder says it was gut wrenching seeing the players sit this competition out but he will not stop pushing for the athletes on the big stage.

“Both of them were in the preliminary entries for the World Youth Championship, who are top 10 in the world they were ranked. Nehemiah, in the ranking itself he was number seven and Zion was number 10 but at the time prior to the World Youth Championship they were already lifting numbers that were in the top three.”

Elder hopes to have the support and backing of the people of Fiji in their bid to represent the country on the world stage.

He also extends his gratitude to the Fijian Government for approving the budget where they have been allocated $1.4m for the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship which Fiji will host.

The competition will begin on the 17th of September at the Vodafone Arena.