Photo: Medal winners in the 77kg – Fa’avae Fa’auliuli (Samoa), Josefa Vueti (Fiji) and Taubena Tatonga (Kiribati). 90930147
Two of the lifters at the New Caledonia weightlifting institute walked away with gold at the Pacific Mini Games championships yesterday.
Kiribati’s Tekaei Temake clinched the three golds in the 69kg class, ahead of Ilaniume Finau from Tonga and Bill Andrews from Fiji.
However, his main competition, Toafitu Perive from Samoa, crashed out of the competition by failing a lift in the clean and jerk. Perive failed to lift 146kg on three occasions so he did not register a clean and jerk for his total.
However the Samoan was able to snatch 111kg for silver – by one kilogram – behind Temake in the first discipline.
In the clean and jerk, Temake lifted 150kg for a total of 262kg.
In the 77kg class, Fijian Josefa Vueti, who is based in Noumea, took the overall category (292kg), but not without a fight from Samoan Fa’avae Fa’auliuli.
The Samoan pipped Vueti by one kilogram in the snatch (126kg) but the Fijian came back to clean and jerk 167kg. Vueti’s winning total was 292kg – five ahead of Fa’auliuli.
Taubena Tatonga from Kiribati was third overall with a total of 235kg (110kg & 125kg).
In the women’s 69kg class, Tauimani Ah Kuoi (Samoa) won gold with a total of 166kg (68kg & 98kg), Hapilyn Iro (Solomon Islands) lifted 147kg (65kg & 82kg), and Raijeli Tagua from Fiji won bronze with a total lift of 136kg.
In the women’s 75kg category, Samoa’s Mary Opeloge won gold with a 192 total (87kg & 105kg), Tamyrah Mautama (Niue) lifted 126kg (55kg & 71kg), and Molilaau Kailea only lifted in the snatch (65kg). - Cook Islands News
Last Modified on 03/10/2009 09:10