Oceania’s largest weightlifting event concluded
At the sixteenth edition of the currently ongoing Pacific Games, the weightlifting competitions were held between 9th and 13th of July in Apia, the capital of the picturesque island of Samoa.
The venue, that was specifically built for weightlifting was the perfect location to host this grandiose triple event, including the Pacific Games, the Oceania Championships (Gold Level Qualification Event) and the Commonwealth Championships (Silver Level Qualification Event) in all three age groups. Jerry Wallwork, President of Samoa WF and his experienced team delivered an excellent show and a well-organized event.
Samoa demonstrated again, that it is the powerhouse of weightlifting in Oceania, winning 33 medals (8 women, 25 men). Australia was a close second on the medal table, was left only one medal short compared to Samoa (20 women, 12 men), while Papua New Guinea clinched 25 medals (15 women, 10 men). The rest of the medals spread out widely among the countries and athletes including WLF, ASA, TGA also taking home a prize.
On the Commonwealth Championships medal table, India piled up a whopping 45 medals, while Samoa, PNG and New Zealand performed well in this field too.
As of the team classification, Nauru, Samoa and Papua New Guinea women and men teams did an outstanding job in all the three competitions.
“From the 26 sports present on the Pacific Games, undoubtedly weightlifting was one of the most popular ones beside rugby. Dignitaries regularly visited the competitions including Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, Samoas Head of State, Prime Minister and many Ministers, the President and CEO of the Pacific Games Council and the President and General Secretary of ONOC. Weightlifting is highly popular in Oceania and enjoys great support from the government and various stakeholders.”
“It is not the first and hopefully not the last time Samoa organized an excellent Championships,” said Dr Tamas Ajan, who was also present at the competition and the OWF annual Congress prior to that.