Judoka Tevita Takayawa and sailor Sophia Morgan participated in a call with students from Handa Middle School in Oita, enabling the Japanese to learn more about Fiji's culture and practice their English.

The Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission facilitated the cultural exchange.

It follows Oita hosting a pre-Games training camp for Fijian athletes last year.

"The overall experience with this event was amazing, it’s wonderful learning about a different culture and also get that opportunity to share about our own culture," Morgan said.

"During the event, Tevita and I were also able to share our unique experiences of the Tokyo Olympic Games and were also able to share more about our individual sport."

Takayawa was also pleasantly surprised by the exchange programme. 

"Seeing how Japanese kids were trying to learn about our small nation country of Fiji and presenting their presentations in English was enlightening," the 25-year-old said.

"I hope schools and sports clubs in Fiji can take advantage of the technology we have now and reach out to current and past athletes to hear from their perspectives on situations and to motivate and inspire future generations of athletes and leaders of Fiji."

Fresh from making an Olympic debut in Japan, Takayawa aims to qualify for Paris 2024 and progress beyond the first round.

"As for Paris 2024, I plan to get back to my peak form physically and mentally and to compete in many competitions," said Takayawa.

"I plan to attend as many training camps as possible with COVID-19 still affecting the world today, so plans may change here and there, but the plan is to be better prepared for whatever comes on my road to Paris 2024."

New Zealand-based Morgan is also preparing herself in advance of the next Olympics.

"In terms of my plans for Paris 2024, I am competing nationally and starting to get into a more consistent and intensive training block as I work towards my international competitions later this year which will be building blocks to the Paris Olympics," Morgan said.

As part of the exchange programme, Swimmer Cheyenne Rova and women's rugby sevens women’s vice-captain Viniana Riwai were able to share their experiences in another online interaction with students from Kaku Elementary and Middle School late last year.

Rova helped Fiji win a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020.