Makelesi Bulikiobo Batimala (born October 23, 1977) is a Fiji Islands sprinter

Sprint (race)

Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...

.

Biography

Nicknamed the "Sprint Queen" by the Fiji Times

Fiji Times

The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating....

and Fiji Village

Fiji Village

The Fiji Village is an online news service in Fiji. Published daily, it covers political, business, sporting, cultural, and other news items, and also includes the Yellow Bucket commentary, an editorial which does not necessarily reflect the views of the Fiji Village owners or staff, according to...

, she has represented her country in several international competitions, including the 2004 Summer Olympics

2004 Summer Olympics

The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

. She won four gold medals at the 2003 South Pacific Games

2003 South Pacific Games

The 2003 Pacific Games were held in Suva, Fiji from 28 June to 12 July 2003. They are also known as the XII South Pacific Games.The Games were the 12th Pacific Games to be held since the event's inception and were the 40th anniversary of their beginnings in 1963. It was also the third time in the...

, in the 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x100m relay events. She also won the women's 200m sprint at the Australian Athletics Championships in 2008.

While taking part in the 2007 World Athletics Championships, she qualified to represent Fiji

Fiji at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Fiji sent a team to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony was female sprinter Makelesi Bulikiobo...

 at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. She will be Fiji's flag bearer at the Games' opening ceremony.

As of 2007, she held the Fiji national record for the women's 100 metre sprint, at 11.66 seconds.

External links

• Biography on the official website of the Beijing Olympics