Queen Bea makes day memorable

For the first time in my five-year athletics careeer I had the great pleasure of stepping up alongside throwing royalty at the Capital Classic track and field meet at Newtown Park, in Wellington, last Friday.
Beatrice Faumina, or Queen Bea as she is often labelled, is a name which immediately jumps to mind when I think about world-class throwing and she has the discus titles to prove it.
I can vividly recall the first time I saw Queen Bea compete at the Capital Classic in 2007 - the concentration on her face and the massive applause she received when she threw. Now I have an even better memory, competing against Queen Bea myself.
This was my third Capital Classic but easily my most nervous. Although I have watched Faumuina compete and talked to her before it was a whole different sensation to be competing against her. I was desperate to do my best as was the other Wairarapa competitor Maria Taylor, only in her second season of serious competition.
By the time it was my turn to walk into the circle the nerves had calmed a trifle but they soon came back when I was confronted by two cameramen I had not noticed before, one at the back of the circle and one further out into the field,. I thought they were there just to get some footage of Faumuina but I was mistaken and they started snapping away as I threw. I did a no throw and it was her turn.
As Faumuina entered the circle the announcer drew attention to the discus event. She did her pre-throw ritual and then strutted her stuff with a Commonwealth Games qualifying throw of 61.11m. As she left the circle everyone was clapping, including me. She just smiled, saying it was about time she had a decent throw.
Overall I was happy with my performance at the Capital Classic, ending up third in the discus and fourth in the javelin. Taylor had a fantastic night with her sixth place in the discus, coming with a personal best throw of 29.62m. Not surprisingly she was very pleased with her effort.
Also representing Wairarapa in throwing events were Alex Fafeita, Josh Greig and Tim Girling-McLean. Fafeita placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 43.73m which equalled his previous best, Greg was seventh with 35.36m and Girling-McLean ninth with 26.81m. In the javelin Fafeita was sixth with 40.06m, Greig seventh with 34.43 and Girling-McLean, in what was his first try at this discipline, eighth with 29.40m.
It was a very successful meet for the Wairarapa throwing contingent despite the less-than-desirable Wellington weather. However, I don't think it will be the conditions which will be remembered when we look back on the 2010 Capital Classic, Queen Bea's presence is sure to take precedence over anything else!
* Courtnay Fafeita is one of the country's top young throwers and a budding journalist to boot. She is contributing regular articles on the local athletics scene to the Times-Age with the emphasis on field events.