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In 1983, the Samoan Olympic Committee was created, and the first athletes representing the nation in the Games travelled to Los Angeles in 1984. The following year, Ele Opeloge was born and would become the only Olympic Samoan medallist (all sports) so far in the history of her country. She is also the first and only Pacific islander (natives from the Oceania islands grouped in one of these three regions: Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia) with a weightlifting Olympic podium presence! But the story is not simple: at the Beijing 2008 rendezvous, Opeloge competed in the women’s +75kg and ranked fourth (119-150-269). Years later, following the re-analysis of samples from those Games, the silver and bronze medallist in Opeloge’s event were found positive for prohibited substances and their medals withdrawn. Upgrading into the Olympic hierarchy, the Samoan star ended up with the silver medal, a pride for a nation that has a solid tradition in weightlifting. If you type “Opeloge” in the IWF athletes’ result database, you will find numerous lifters. In fact, Ele comes from a successful weightlifting family, where 10 out of the 12 siblings competed internationally in the sport – her brother Niusula (born in 1980) was a gold medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the men’s 105kg, in the same day Ele triumphed in the women’s +75kg. Sister Mary (born in 1992) is a nine-time winner at the Oceania Championships (between 2008 and 2016). Ele is also a three-time winner at the Pacific Games and earned two gold medals at the Oceania Weightlifting Championships. She had a second Olympic participation in London 2012, finishing fifth. Ele is the aunt of Avatu Opeloge (her twin sister’s daughter), a silver medallist at the 2023 Pacific Games.