Gold for Wanga

East New Britain’s Emmanuel Wanga won his first gold in the Melanesian Athletics Championship, taking out the Under-18 men’s 400 metres at the ANZ Stadium, Suva on Friday.
The 16-year-old clocked 50.66 seconds, Dusty Rankin of Australia was second (51.30) and Osea Baleinamau of Fiji came third (52.28).
Winning gold in the Melanesian Games was a big boost for Wanga as he suffered a hamstring injury last month.
“Last month I pulled a hamstring and winning this gold has made me so happy,” Wanga said.
“I am proud to just be here and represent my country and make them proud by winning this gold for them, I was not expecting to win but I thank God for blessing me with this talent.”
Even though Wanga did not get his personal best he said he was still working on achieving his dream of becoming the Pacific’s number one athlete.
“My one goal coming here was to get a personal best but I did not get that and even still I am happy,” he said.
“The competition here is very different compared to back home and very competitive which I know I will benefit from.
“My aim is to become a top athlete in the Pacific and I know that road will not be easy but these kinds of competitions make that dream possible. “I really want to thank the Lord for getting me here and giving me this talent and I want to thank all the supporters back home as well.”
This was the first time Wanga has travelled outside Papua New Guinea and said he was enjoying the experience of the Melanesian Games but also a whole new world outside home.
The 2016 Melanesian Athletics Championships ended on Friday.
 – Fiji Sun