The Rise of Raikiwasa | World Under 20 Championships

Shifting from a shy and quiet discus thrower to a purple-haired medal contender in the space of two years, Marley Raikiwasa’s rise has stemmed from comfort and growth. On an Australian team brimming with talent for the World Under 20 Championships, Raikiwasa is ready to make waves.

Despite maturing both on and off the track, Raikiwasa’s ability to fly under the radar has gone unchanged. Somewhat drowned out the noise surrounding her Olympic semi-finalist teammates including Claudia Hollingsworth, Peyton Craig and Torrie Lewis – the thrower lands in Lima with the potential to surprise.

Ranked third in the shot put and fourth in the discus throw, the 19-year-old credits her recent success to her move to Auburn University in the NCAA system:

“I have found more confidence in my throwing ability and being forced to be independent has brought me out of my shell. I had to gel with my team quite quickly and every week there is something happening,” Raikiwasa said.

“At first it was a bit of a forced proximity thing, it felt like we had to be friends because we are in each other’s pockets all the time. But the more we trained together and spent time together, they have become my best friends.”

Raikiwasa is no stranger to the World Athletics Under 20 Championships. In 2022, she qualified for the final of the discus and claimed ninth place, now returning in 2024 to contest both the discus and shot put – having claimed the Australian Under 20 record in the shot put earlier this year with a 16.84m effort.

“I’m one of the older athletes now and I have been in the position of being younger from when I went two years ago. I think I bring experience to the group when we talk about qualifying and finals, and I know that I have competed at higher level competitions than what I will experience here,” Raikiwasa said.

Extending her discus career-best by five metres to now stand at 57.42m, the South Australian has also added two tattoos when leaning into her Fijian heritage, while also developing a trademark look – factors that have all contribute to her improvement. 

“The tattoo I got for my 18^th birthday, that was always going to be a thing. The hair colour was just my mate said to me in the US that I should dye my hair, and it almost made a name for me as the chick with the purple hair,” Raikiwasa said.

“The more confident I have become, the more comfortable I have felt experimenting with different things.”

Picking up her training load at Auburn University under the guidance of Patrick Ebel, Raikiwasa expects her experience in championship environments to benefit her on the world stage in Lima, relishing yet another opportunity to compete and improve against the world’s best.

“Every competition in the States is like being at Nationals, it’s that level of locked in. At home it was about trying to create that competition scenario in your own head, but when I went overseas, I went from the top to the very bottom and had to work my way up,” Raikiwasa said.

“I kind of bombed out at US Nationals, so coming here is not really redemption, but it also almost is for me. I’m aware of the rankings and know that I’m in medal contention, but rankings don’t mean much in field events.”

The 2024 World Athletics Under 20 Championships will be contested in Lima, Peru from August 27-31, with Australian viewers able to tune in via World Athletics’ Inside Track platform.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 23/08/2024