Makarita Lenoa has been elected President of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee after defeating Joe Rodan Senior in the election ©FASANOC

Makarita Lenoa has been elected as the new President of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) after defeating incumbent Joe Rodan Senior in an historic election. 

Rodan had held the post for four years but was defeated by Lenoa in the ballot at the FASANOC General Assembly in Suva.

The 65-year-old former secondary school teacher, who was elected for two years, is the first indigenous Fijian woman to be chosen as President at FASANOC

Lenoa is also only the second female to hold the post, following in the footsteps of the late Sophia Raddock who held the position from 1988 to 1996.

Lenoa had been a former vice-president of the FASANOC Executive Board and is the current chairperson of the FASANOC Sports Education Commission.

Under the Presidency of Joe Rodan Senior, Fiji won its first Olympic medal - a gold in rugby sevens at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images
Under the Presidency of Joe Rodan Senior, Fiji won its first Olympic medal - a gold in rugby sevens at Rio 2016 ©Getty Images

She is also the current chair of Karate Fiji, a role she has held since 2007, a former President of the Oceania Karate Federation and continues to serve as a member of the Executive Committee of the World Karate Federation. 

Under Rodan, Fiji enjoyed the greatest moment in its Olympic history when its men's rugby sevens team won the Olympic gold when the sport made its debut at Rio 2016 - Fiji's first medal at the Games. 

Besides Lenoa, Calvin Yee, Fiji's general manager for this year's Pacific Games in Samoa, was elected as one of the organisation's four vice-presidents. 

Cathy Wong, Fiji's Chef de Mission at Rio 2016, was also re-elected as vice-president.

Harvie Probert and JJ Rodan had been elected as vice-presidents last year and their terms are not due to end until 2020.