However, with the big support they are getting from the countrymen who lives here in CNMI, the underdogs he said may turn the event around.
Russ Roman who was having lunch with his team said he is confident that his athletes will make it in the Under 18 division.
The teams that he thinks Palau athletes see as big challenge are those from the Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon and Fiji. The rest of the teams in Under 18 he said “are not threat to them.
But in the open division, Roman admitted they are not too confident.
Probably because those they see participating from other member federation have undergone training in the High Performance Training Center based in New Zealand. This institution he said selects only certain athletes from all over the world for very high standard training.
None of the Palau athletes this year have attended such a world renowned sports institution. But he believes their athletes had gotten enough training back home.
The only Palauan athlete who was selected to attend the HPTC three years ago had an idea how the training there was done, so he believes they were able to at catch up with whatever they got there.
“We are confident that our athletes will try all their best to compete with those guys,” he said.
Two of them he said are competing in Beijing Olympics in August. They are Pioria Koshiba who will run in 100-meter for Women and Jesse Tamagro who will run in 100 meters Men division.
Those participating this year he said have won medals in the previous Oceania Championship in Samoa.
They are Leon Mengloi who won silver medal in Octathlon Under 18 division and bronze medal in Men Javelin Throw Under 18 division.
Another veteran athlete with them now is Duglas Schmidt.
The rest are new bloods. They are Ian Koshiba, Cyandal Williams, Leewan Manuel, John Stills and Peoria Koshiba.
Meanwhile, Joshua B. Tanaka a long time resident of NMI is calling all members of the Palauan community too and see their own athletes.
