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Australia, Samoa and Fiji had the stand-out performers at the Oceania Championships in Palau, the first senior IWF competition in which the new body weight categories were used. The Championships were part of the Pacific Mini Games, which ended this Wednesday.

The highest female Sinclair points scorers were both Australian, Kiana Elliott and Eileen Cikamatana. John Tafi from Samoa and Fiji’s youth world champion Nehemiah Elder were top-rated in the men’s events. All four of those athletes claimed Oceania senior records, as did Brenna Kean from Australia and Seine Stowers from Samoa.

Dika Toua from Papua New Guinea won her 16th Oceania title, at the age of 41, when she made 69-91-160 at 53kg. It is now 25 years since she first competed internationally.

Dika’s team-mate and fellow multiple Olympian Morea Baru, who is six years younger, made 117-156-273 at 65kg to win his 10th continental title. That equals the record number of continental men’s titles held by Marcus Stephen, the IWF board member from Nauru.

Kiana Elliott (AUS) – Photo credit: Nya Hayman

Elliott, 27, made all six lifts in the 63kg category, for which she weighed in about 4kg light, and claimed continental records in snatch and total on 98-115-213.

“They were quality lifts, which is what I was aiming for, and at a bodyweight that would have landed me in the old 59 class,” said Elliott, who works for the South Australia government.

She has broken the 120kg barrier twice in clean and jerk, in 2022, but weighed about 10kg more on both occasions. This was Elliott’s first competition since the IWF World Cup in Thailand 15 months ago, where she narrowly failed to qualify for the Paris Olympic Games.

 “Throughout this past year I thought I may never step on an international platform again. I’m proud of the work I’ve done with my team back home in Adelaide and I’m excited to get back into it. There’s more to come,” Elliott said.

The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year is a major target for Elliott and many other athletes at these Oceania Championships.

Cikamatana is already a strong favourite for gold in Scotland at 86kg. Having finished fourth in Paris and second at the World Championships last year at 87kg, she started out in the new weight with an Oceania snatch record. Cikamatana made four from six in her 115-140-255.

Dika Toua (PNG)

Kean and Stowers both set continental clean and jerk records. Kean won at 58kg on 79-108-187, and Stowers won at 77kg on 99-128-227.

In the men’s events at the Sports Complex Meyuns, 16-year-old Elder made an attempt at the 88kg youth world standard of 192kg in clean and jerk. He made 192kg when he won the youth world title at 89kg last year, and has done more in training according to his coach and father Henry Elder, but this time he failed, then declined his final attempt.

Elder won by a wide margin on 155-175-330, setting a continental snatch record for seniors. He holds all six Oceania youth and junior records at the new weight and will have another try for senior records at the Commonwealth Championships in India in August.

Elder Nehemiah (FIJ)

Tafi had a sweep of continental records at 71kg when he made four from six for 136-169-305. Tafi’s total was the same as the super-heavyweight silver medallist Joey Colisao from Northern Mariana Islands. David Liti from New Zealand declined his last two attempts after winning the supers on 335kg.

There was a close battle between Taniela Rainibogi from Fiji and Jack Opeloge from Samoa in the 110kg category. Opeloge won with a 201kg clean and jerk, finishing 3kg better than Rainibogi on 359kg. Both men missed twice in clean and jerk and will meet again at the Commonwealth Championships.

By Brian Oliver