Pini is guest speaker at awards

Commonwealth Games swimming champion, Ryan Pini of Papua New Guinea, will be the guest speaker at the FASANOC Sports Awards on March 6.

The 28-year-old from Port Moresby won the 100m butterfly atthe 2006 Commonwealth Games, and in 2008 he became the first PNG swimmer ever to reach an Olympic final.

Pini is a two-time Olympic swimmer, having also represented PNG in Athens 2004. He was the PNG flag bearer in 2008.

Pini was ranked number one in the world in the 100m butterfly after his victory at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, a ranking he held for 4 months.

Pini was named Papua New Guineas Sportsman of the Year Award in 2003, 2004 and 2005, and won the Male Swimmer of the Meet honours at the 2003 South Pacific Games, where he won 7 events, 4 with new Games Records

While Pini grew up in Papua New Guinea, he trains in Brisbane, Australia under coach Rick VanDerZant.

The FASANOC Sports Awards will be held at the Holiday Inn, Suva. Tickets to the event are on sale through FASANOC for $30 each. Tickets include dinner, a drink on arrival and a night of entertainment.