Australia's Fijian recruit Eileen Cikamatana, left, and Samoan Don Opeloge Photo: Supplied
Two Pacific island weightlifters are possible medal winners at the Paris Olympics, as the Games winds down this weekend.
They are Samoan strongman Don Opeloge and Australia's Fijian recruit Eileen Cikamatana.
Both have been impressive throughout the past 24 months and have qualified for the Games following tough challenges along the way.
Samoa's hope
Opeloge will be competing in the men's 102 kilograms event on Saturday night (New Zealand time).
He is Samoa's hope for a medal at the current competition.
Having gone through a tough preparation schedule, which include qualifying for the Games, Opeloge said he is ready for the challenge.
Getting at the Paris Olympics is culmination of a dream he has had for some time, he told the Guardian in July.
He was bestowed a chiefly title, La'auli, back in his home country this year, to honour mark his achievements as an athlete and as a token of appreciation and recognition of service in the sport.
The 25-year-old weightlifter said at the time he was ready.
"This is a dream that I have been chasing for the last 13 years," Opeloge said then.
He qualified for Tokyo 2020 but did not compete because of Covid-19.
This time he has made it to the French capital, soaked in the Olympic spirit, as he prepares for his turn to compete.
He comes from a well-known weightlifting family back home too, with family members having competed for Samoa previously.
He says it was seeing his older relatives taking part in the sport that spurred him on.
His aunt Ele Opeloge, was the first Samoan to win an Olympic medal in any sport - silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Samoan lifter Don Opeloge (left) with boxer Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali in Paris. Opeloge competes in weightlifting on Saturday. Photo: Team Samoa
Opeloge is currently ranked number eight in the world, with his best lift being a total of 386kg in Riyadh last year.
He also claimed the bronze medal at the IWF World Cup Grand Prix in Doha in December.
Opeloge has won six Oceania overall titles across four weight classes. In 2017/2018 he competed in the 85kg, in 2019 in the 89kg, 2021 he moved to 96kg before moving up further to 102kg in 2023.
At the 2024 Oceania Championships, he set both Commonwealth and Oceania records in the 102kg snatch (175kg) and total (390kg).
Opeloge will face a tough challenge of qualifying for a medal, with 12 other lifters to contend with, including China's Liu Huanhua, who dominated the men's 102kg category at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup in Thailand in April this year.
Liu, ranked fifth in the snatch with his best attempt of 181kg, lifted 225kg in the second attempt to secure the gold medals in the clean and jerk and in total, before going on to lift 232kg for a total of 413kg to set new world records in both categories - the first time since the men's 102kg category was set in 2018, Xinhua News reported earlier this year.
Cikamatana tipped to win
Australian weightlifting could be celebrating their first Olympic medal in the sport in a long time if Cikamatana gets her work done well.
"The Olympics is the biggest goal of any athlete," the bubbly 24-year-old told Reuters earlier this year.
"It's every athlete's dream to be at the Olympics and to be a podium finisher is the greatest goal that anyone could look at. That's what we're going for."
The former Commonwealth Games winner for Fiji, Cikamatana has been tipped by coach Paul Coffa to be a top medal contender.
The seasoned coach, who is attending his 10th Games, is adamant the Fijian-born 24-year-old has the ability to mix it with the world's best lifters in the +81kg category in Paris.
Australia's Fijian lifter Eileen Cikanamata tipped to win a medal in Paris this weekend. Photo: Australia Olympic Comittee
Coffa, 80, spent 26-years working within the Pacific weightlifting circle.
Coffa sees something special in Eileen.
"There's nothing in my mind but gold," Coffa said of her chances.
"She has the ability. She's strong. She's prepared. No injuries. She wants gold at all costs. We're going for gold."
She will be in action in the women's 81kg event, at the South Paris Arena 6 on Sunday (New Zealand time).
Her highest ranking in competitions she had participated in was second at the IWF World Championships in Bogota, Colombia in 2022, where she had lifted a total of 249kg.
But she had lifted better at the IWF World Championships in Riyadh in 2023, totalling 256kg and finishing third at that event.
Marshall Islands Mathlynn Sasser finished 10th overall in the women’s 59kg weightlifting event. Photo: ONOC / Kirk Corrie
Pacific results
Pacific athletes continued to compete at the Games, rounding off competition in different sports.
Marshall Islands' Mathlynn Sasser finished 10th overall in the women's 59kg weightlifting event. She lifted 94kg in the snatch and 115kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 209kg.
Raina Taitingfong of Guam was back in action today in the women's canoe single 200m quarterfinals and finished her race in 1 minute 07.17 seconds.
Rckaela Aquino, also of Guam, fought bravely against her opponent in the women's 57kg wrestling quarterfinal clash. She lost 2-0 on the scorecards. Rckaela is now a two-time Olympian and she's the younger sister of Mia Aquino, who made her Olympics debut in the women's Freestyle 53kg event on Thursday.
PNG's Kevin Kassman battled against Bradly Sinden, the current world number two from Great Britain in Taekwondo. Kassman went down fighting 0-2 against an experienced opponent, in his first Olympics.
PNG’s Kevin Kassman battled against Bradly Sinden in Taekwondo. Photo: ONOC / Casey Sims