Leading Pacific athlete dies aged 49

Updated January 15, 2009 16:47:10

One of the Pacific's most revered athletes, Marie Christine Fakate, has died at the age of 49 after a long illness. Born in Futuna, she trained in New Caledonia and became one of the region's most successful discus throwers and shot putters - winning medals in Australia, New Zealand and France. She is the first person to have won gold at five consecutive Pacific Games.

Helen Hoffman

Coach Didier Poppe

POPPE: She is really one of the main person I have met in my life, because she had such a personality, such a dedications in everything she was trying to achieve, and she had such a belief in the value of sport and education that she is somebody you are already missing because she is not there anymore.

HOFFMAN: Can you tell us a little bit more about her achievements as an athlete?

POPPE: As an athlete, she was a discuss thrower and she has done something that nobody has before us done. She won five gold medal in a row in the South Pacific Games and the first one was in '79 at Suva, Fiji and she was really the best athlete in the Pacific during more than 15 years on the discuss throw. And also she some gold medal in the shot put as well. She was also a French international. She got some medals at the French Championship and also she was one time New Zealand champion and Australian medallist. So she has a very, very long and successful career and I would say one of the best of all the female athletes in the Pacific.

HOFFMAN: You mentioned that it was not always easy for her to compete, especially with the French team?

POPPE: Oh yes, because at the beginning that was back in the very early 80's, we had at the time no money to compete overseas. Because she was so good, we wanted her to compete in the French Championship and we had really tried to pay for her ticket and get her accommodated by friends, family and so on and so on. But she had such a good results after the championship that it may have been okay for one of the key to open the door for money to go for the other athletes from the Federation.

HOFFMAN: It wasn't just about competitions though. She did a lot of outside competitions for sport in general?

POPPE: Yes, yes. She was very involved in everything concerning the young people and especially she was a Christian and working for many things concerning the church and the education of young people and also when she got a job for New Caledonian Sports Administration, she was in charge of going into the primary schools and looking for talent and she has done this job remarkably well and she has really discovered many young athletes who later became some of the best New Caledonian athletes.

HOFFMAN: How will she be remembered?

POPPE: She will be remembered as somebody you call madam, because she was such a personality that you had to respect in her. In her behaviour she was always straight, always very honest, always putting in confidence in you and building relationship with you. So she was somebody which was was really a great for Polynesian people, especially from the Futuna people in Futuna.