ROVA Cheyenne

Fiji

Swimming

Date of Birth: 23 Apr 1995

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Olympic Scholarship

Place of birth: LEVUKA

Birth Country:

Fiji

Place of residence : NADI

Residence Country:

Fiji

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Swimming	Women's 50m Freestyle

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Tokyo Aquatics Centre	Women's 50m Freestyle - Heat 5	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

World Championships

Year	Location	50Free	100Free	200Free	50Back	100Back	50Fly	200IndMed
2017	Budapest, HUN	H (27.05)	-	-	-	H (1:07.10)	-	-
2009	Rome, ITA	H (28.60)	H (1:04.67)	H (2:27.63)	H (32.57)	H (1:13.53)	H (31.79)	H (2:48.26)

World Championships Short Course

Year	Location	50Free	100Free	50Back	100IndMed
2016	Windsor, ON, CAN	H (25.82)	H (57.79)	H (DNS)	H (1:06.81)

Legend
Free - Freestyle, Back - Backstroke, Breast - Breaststroke, Fly - Butterfly, IndMed - Individual Medley, SF - Semifinal, H - Heats, DNS - Did Not Start, M - Men, W - Women, X - Mixed, DSQ - Disqualified, [Relay athlete without time] - Did not swim in final

Hobbies:

Going to the beach. (Instagram profile, 18 Jul 2021)

Occupation:

Teacher

Education:

General Studies - Iowa Lakes Community College, Emmetsburg, IA, USA

Languages spoken:

English

Club name:

Nadi Barracuda Swim Club [Fiji]

Coach:

Rosemary Rova [club, mother]

Sporting relatives:

Her sisters Adele and Rosemarie have both represented Fiji in swimming. Rosemarie won gold alongside Cheyenne in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2019 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa. Her mother Rosemary has served as coach of a swimming club in Nadi, Fiji, while her father Ben has served as president of Fiji Swimming. (fijisun.com.fj, 28 Apr 2014, 05 Oct 2019; Fiji Sun, 10 Jan 2021)

Start:

She took up swimming in first grade at Mount Saint Mary's Primary School in Nadi, Fiji. (fijisun.com.fj, 05 May 2013)

Reason:

"What made me take up swimming was watching my older cousins and my idol [Fijian swimmer] Caroline Pickering when they take to the pool for competitions." (fijisun.com.fj, 05 May 2013)

Ambition:

To swim a personal best time at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Instagram profile, 18 Jul 2021; abc.net.au, 01 Jul 2021)

Memorable:

Winning gold alongside her sister Rosemarie in the women's 4x100m freestyle relay at the 2019 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa. (Fiji Sun, 10 Jan 2021)

Hero:

Fijian swimmer Caroline Pickering-Puamau. (fijisun.com.fj, 05 May 2013)

Philosophy:

"I am intrinsically motivated and so if I want something I am going to do it for me. And I think that is why I am still here and it is because I want and not because somebody else wants it for me. And I think that is what I advise other people, just give it everything because I hate regret." (vitisportsandlife.com, 01 Jan 2020)

Award:

During her time at Minnesota State University in the United States of America, she was the recipient of the 2016 Team Most Valuable Player award. (msumavericks.com, 01 Jun 2017)

At age 14 she was named the 2009 Fijian Female Swimmer of the Year. She also received All-American honours after her first season at Iowa Lakes Community College in the United States of America. (hansonmediagroup.com.au, 28 May 2010)

General Interest

General
EDUCATION AND OCCUPATION
She studied for a degree in kinesiology and exercise science at Minnesota State University in the United States of America before studying towards a master's degree in sport and fitness administration from the same university. She has worked as a physical and health education teacher in Nadi, Fiji, and took leave from her teaching job to attend the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She hopes to open a high performance centre for athletes in Fiji in the future. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Jul 2020; abc.net.au, 01 Jul 2021; Fiji Sun, 10 Jan 2021)

TOKYO TRAINING PREPARATIONS
She says her preparations for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo were affected by her lack of access to elite training facilities. "The competition [at the Olympic games] is not fair in the sense that I didn't have access to the facilities that could have prepared me better. Trying to get in pool-time is really difficult when there are younger kids there to have fun and socialise and I'm there with goals, trying to get to the Olympics." (newsworthy.org.au, 14 Jul 2021; abc.net.au, 01 Jul 2021)

COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP
In 2013 she was the first recipient of the Iowa Lakes Community College's Oceania swimming scholarship. The college set up the scholarship in conjunction with the Oceania Foundation, Oceania National Olympic Committees and Samsung to provide a university scholarship for one swimmer each year. (fijisun.com.fj, 31 Mar 2014)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos