Age is just a number. And it is never too late. Would you agree that these adages are not just for books?
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi has proven that these sayings are true and valid!
The 74-year old Prime Minister has made it to the national archery team after performing successfully at the trials. He will now represent Samoa at the Pacific Games, which will be held from 7-20th July in Apia, Samoa. Over 3,500 athletes from across 24 nations will congregate to earn medals in over 25 sporting events. The archery competition, however, will be held from 9-12 July.
But Prime Minister Malielegaoi is not a novice to the field of archery. The enthusiastic and larger-than-life septuagenarian has previously won a silver medal for the archery event when Samoa hosted the same event 12 years back in 2007. He said that he wanted to better his performance this year and was putting in much effort along with his teammates to ensure a podium finish.
Tuilaepa told www.samoa2019.ws at the trials: “We need to practise as often as possible to improve our shooting style. We know the techniques and we need to perfect our techniques.”
Asked if he believed he might win a gold medal, he said, “I already have a gold medal in my mind. Simply by participating as leader of this country, that is a gold medal in itself.”
And we could not agree more!
With this unprecedented feat, it certainly seems like Malielegaoi will be one of the first elected heads of a nation that will participate in a competitive sporting event.
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