OCEANIA WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION
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Last weekend, March 17 th to 19 th , Australia hosted the Australian International Open in Melbourne with twelve countries taking part and 220 lifters competing. This event was also a Commonwealth Games Qualification event, where many countries brought full teams in order to reach the standard required to qualify. The tournament was held at the Victorian Weightlifting Stadium in Hawthorn. Obviously the competition was run at the highest level. All referees and jury members were Category 1. The doping control was done by ASADA. The competition venue was full for all sessions. There was some excellent battles in many categories. And there was some outstanding performances by many lifters. The best lifter in the women section was 17 year old, Fijian sensation, Eileen Cikamatana, who established new records in the new category 90Kg. She clean & jerked 136kg which gave her four records – Oceania Junior, Oceania Senior, Commonwealth Junior and Commonwealth Senior records. Whilst her total of 236kg was also an Oceania Junior and Commonwealth Junior record. A new Oceania record was also established by Thelma Toua from Papua New Guinea in the 48kg category. She clean & jerked 93kg. It was also great to see the return of Dika Toua from PNG. She totalled 180kg in the 53Kg category and jumped in to first place in the Commonwealth rankings. She is focussing on a back to back gold at next years Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. An excellent performance was also done by New Zealand lifter, Laurel Hubbard, in the +90kg category. She totalled 268kg to take second best female performance prize. Other good results were also produced by Tia-Clair Toomey from Australia in the 58kg category with a total of 195kg. As well as Seen Lee from Australia in the 63kg category with a total of 198kg. Also Andrea Miller from New Zealand in the 69kg category with a total of 201kg. In the men’s category, the 56kg, 69kg and 77kg categories were dominated by Malaysian weightlifters. In fact Malaysian Mohid Hafifi Mansor in the 69kg category won the best male lifter of the tournament with a total of 307Kg. Samoa also dominated the heavier categories. Winning 85kg, 94kg, and 105kg categories. Whilst David Liti, the young superheavy champion from New Zealand, got his best ever total of 380kg. And it looked like he had quite a bit to spare. 400kg for this young man is just around the corner. Special thanks must go to Michael Keelan, the CEO of the Australian Weightlifting Federation, for organising such a brilliant tournament. To the Victorian Weightlifting Association, in particular Ryan Mitchell and all the technical officials and volunteers who spent three full days from 6.00am in the morning to 10.30pm in the evening to make sure that the event ran smoothly. OWF EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING The OWF held its Executive Board Meeting on Thursday, 16 th March, at the Victorian Weightlifting Stadium. Some of the items on the agenda were the 2016 financial report which was passed unanimously. The 2017 budget which was adopted and passed unanimously. The Board also discussed the 2017 Oceania Championships on the Gold Coast, the 2017 Asian Indoor Games, the OTIP program for this year coming, the Women Development Seminar which the OWF wishes to run in the month of May at the Gold Coast if funds are available from the IWF. Garry Marshall highlighted the list of technical officials from our region. OCEANIA WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION Newsletter March 2017
Transcript of OCEANIA WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION
Last weekend, March 17th to 19th, Australia hosted the Australian International Open in Melbourne with twelve countries taking part and 220 lifters competing. This event was also a Commonwealth Games Qualification event, where many countries brought full teams in order to reach the standard required to qualify. The tournament was held at the Victorian Weightlifting Stadium in Hawthorn. Obviously the competition was run at the highest level. All referees and jury members were Category 1. The doping control was done by ASADA. The competition venue was full for all sessions. There was some excellent battles in many categories. And there was some outstanding performances by many lifters.
The best lifter in the women section was 17 year old, Fijian sensation, Eileen Cikamatana, who established new records in the new category 90Kg. She clean & jerked 136kg which gave her four records – Oceania Junior, Oceania Senior, Commonwealth Junior and Commonwealth Senior records. Whilst her total of 236kg was also an Oceania Junior and Commonwealth Junior record.
A new Oceania record was also established by Thelma Toua from Papua New Guinea in the 48kg category. She clean & jerked 93kg. It was also great to see the return of Dika Toua from PNG. She totalled 180kg in the 53Kg category and jumped in to first place in the Commonwealth rankings. She is focussing on a back to back gold at next years Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. An excellent performance was also done by New Zealand lifter, Laurel Hubbard, in the +90kg category. She totalled 268kg to take second best female performance prize.
Other good results were also produced by Tia-Clair Toomey from Australia in the 58kg category with a total of 195kg. As well as Seen Lee from Australia in the 63kg category with a total of 198kg. Also Andrea Miller from New Zealand in the 69kg category with a total of 201kg.
In the men’s category, the 56kg, 69kg and 77kg categories were dominated by Malaysian weightlifters. In fact Malaysian Mohid Hafifi Mansor in the 69kg category won the best male lifter of the tournament with a total of 307Kg. Samoa also dominated the heavier categories. Winning 85kg, 94kg, and 105kg categories. Whilst David Liti, the young superheavy champion from New Zealand, got his best ever total of 380kg. And it looked like he had quite a bit to spare. 400kg for this young man is just around the corner. Special thanks must go to Michael Keelan, the CEO of the Australian Weightlifting Federation, for organising such a brilliant tournament. To the Victorian Weightlifting Association, in particular Ryan Mitchell and all the technical officials and volunteers who spent three full days from 6.00am in the morning to 10.30pm in the evening to make sure that the event ran smoothly. OWF EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING The OWF held its Executive Board Meeting on Thursday, 16th March, at the Victorian Weightlifting Stadium. Some of the items on the agenda were the 2016 financial report which was passed unanimously. The 2017 budget which was adopted and passed unanimously. The Board also discussed the 2017 Oceania Championships on the Gold Coast, the 2017 Asian Indoor Games, the OTIP program for this year coming, the Women Development Seminar which the OWF wishes to run in the month of May at the Gold Coast if funds are available from the IWF. Garry Marshall highlighted the list of technical officials from our region.
OCEANIA WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION
Newsletter March 2017
Also new standard records were adopted for the 90kg senior, junior and youth. These are the records : SENIOR RECORDS : snatch – 109kg, Clean & Jerk - 135kg (already broken 136kg) Total – 240kg JUNIOR RECORDS : snatch – 104kg, Clean & jerk 126kg (already broken 136kg) Total 229kg (already broken 236kg) YOUTH RECORDS : snatch – 90kg, Clean & Jerk - 115kg Total – 205kg ELE OPELOGE Ele Opeloge, the Samoan and Oceania golden girl arrived during the week, from New Zealand at Apia airport in Samoa to a very large welcoming crowd. The Beijing Olympic Silver Medallist had waited eight long years to be presented with her rightful medal. The presentation was made the day after she arrived at the Samoa Olympic Committee Headquarters. The whole Samoan weightlifting team was there including many distinguished guests. An emotional Ele, humbly thanked everyone, the Government, Jerry Wallwork, her family and the people of Samoa.
REMARKS by Paul Coffa It is certainly not the way it should have happened. Eight years later to receive your Olympic medal, does not have the same impact. Ele was robbed of everything. She was robbed of sponsorship, government support, the euphoria that goes with winning an Olympic medal. She is the first woman in weightlifting in the Oceania region to have won an Olympic medal and she is the first woman in all sports from the Pacific Islands to have won an Olympic medal.
I have no pity for those drug cheats. For selfish reasons, and obviously monetary reasons, they do anything to achieve what they cannot achieve under normal and fair circumstances. Behind these cheating performances also lie their collaborators. Not only coaches but also doctors, officials, and the list continues. These people without any remorse or reservation have brought weightlifting in to disrepute. We are at the top of the mountains when it comes to doping. I just
hope that common sense prevails in the future and that decent and honourable people can bring back the sport to a clean and upright standing that it deserves. AMERICAN SAMOA Congratulations to Mr Ed Imo, on his re-election as President of the American Samoa Weightlifting Federation, and more important for been elected President of the National Olympic Committee of American Samoa for the next four years. The OWF wishes Mr Imo a very successful term of office. Congratulation also to Mrs Liliu Mailo for been re-elected Secretary of American Samoa Weightlifting and also to the First Vice President Mr Carl Floor Sr, and Treasurer Mrs.Gloria Ausage.
THE WINNERS AT THE 2017 AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL OPEN.
Paul Coffa MBE All photos courtesy of the Australian Weightlifting Federation OWF General Secretary Ele Opeloge photo courtesy of the Samoa Observer
