Olympic Athlete News

Following is an update on the final preparations being undertaken by some of the athletes from the small islands of Oceania for their representation at the Olympic Games next month.

AMERICAN SAMOA
Weightlifter Alesana Sione will be travelling to the AIS to train under coach Harry Wardle before moving to Sydney for the Olympic Games.

Hammer thrower Lisa Misipeka is back in the USA following her successful participation in a number of events in Europe over the past few months. She will move to Australia in early September and will be based at the AIS.

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA
The FSM Swim Team contiues its Olympic preparations in Darwin at the Northern Territory Institute of Sport.

FIJI
Young Fijian weightlifter Kesaia Tawai of Levuka finally received her invitation to compete in the Olympic Games in Sydney. Although amongst the early nominees of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation for a place in the Sydney Games, it took three weeks before the confirmation of her participation in Sydney. Kesaia first made her mark in regional weightlifting when she won 3 Gold Medals at the 1997 South Pacific Mini Games in Pago Pago as a 16 year old schoolgirl. Two years later she repeated the performance in the Guam SP Games and is one the top juniors in the region. Kesaia has been training in her hometown for the past few weeks and has returned to Suva to train with Nauru Olympic weightlifters Marcus Stephens and Sheeva Peo who are in Fiji for two weeks before returning for their final preparations in Nauru

Fiji Judokas Nacanieli Qerewaqa and Laisa Laveti are currently in Japan for their final training camp before the Sydney Olympic Games.

Fiji swimmer Carl Probert is based in Canberra and will be competing in the Telstra Grand Prix in Melbourne at the end of August. He will be joined in Melbourne by Caroline Pickering, currently based in Suva. Both swimmers will return to Canberra for their final pre Games taper with coach Jim Fowlie after Melbourne.

Mistral Boardsailor Tony Philp is now back in Sydney after competing in several regattas in Europe in the past few months.

GUAM
NOC staff member Melissa Fejeran also received her invitation to compete in Sydney on Friday last, and has several days to pack before leaving for Australia on the 14th of August. Melissa will be training at the Australian Institute of Sport with Coach Harry Wardle. Melissa will be training with American Samoan weightlifter Alesana Sione.

Guam has seven athletes that have qualified or received invitations to take part in the Sydney Games – making them one of the biggest Island delegations taking part.

The USA Weightlifting Team will also be training at the AIS, but according to OOTC Director Dr Jean Roberts, their sessions will be closed.

Daniel O’Keefe (Swimming) is also in Canberra and will be joining the Fiji swimmers in Melbourne.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA
PNG teenager Dika Toua is due to leave Port Moresby this weekend to undergo an intensive five week training programme in Brisbane in preparation for the Sydney Olympic Games. Her trip which will cost K17400 is funded by the PNG Sports Federation’s sports development component under its contract with Trukai Industries. She will be accompanied by her coach Douglas Mea.

PNGSF & NOC Secretary General Sir John Dawanincura said that Dika will be training with the Australian Women’s Assistant Coach Mike Keelan who was recommended to the NOC by the Oceania Weightlifting Secretary General Paul Coffa who is also the National Coach for the Nauru Weightlifting team.

Dika, a 16 year old student at Badihagwa High School, will compete in the 48kg division at the Olympic Games. She recently won a Silver Medal at the South Pacific, Oceania and Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships.

Swimmer Xenia Peni is training in Melbourne.

SAMOA
Samoan Olympic cyclist Bianca Netzler has just completed 6 days of racing in Altoona on the east coast of USA. She placed very well following her 2 weeks of training in Colorado. Her coach Warren Armstrong was very pleased with her progress and has returned her to Boulder, Colorado for further altitude training.

On 26 August she will fly to New York to do a final one-day race on the 27 August before returning to NZ on the 30 August for 2-3 day stopover before heading out to Sydney.

VANUATU
Archer Francois Latil is training in New Zealand.

The full list of small island NOC representatives to date is as follows:

AMERICAN SAMOA
Lisa Misipeka, Womens Hammer Throw
Alesana Sione, Weightlifting (Male)
Kuresa Tupua, Archery (Male)
Kelsey Nakanelua, Athletics (Male)

COOK ISLANDS
Turia Vogel, Mistral Boardsailing (Female)

FSM
Welbert Samuel, Swimming (Male)
Tracy Anne Route, Swimming (Female)
Regina Shotaro, Athletics (Female)
Elias Rodrigues, Athletics (Male)
Manuel Minginfel, Weightlifting (Male)

FIJI
Caroline Pickering, Swimming (Female)
Carl Probert, Swimming (Male)
Nacanieli Qerewaqa, Judo (Male)
Laisa Laveti, Judo (Female)
Tony Philp, Mistral Boardsailing (Male)
Kesaia Tawai, Weightlifting (Female)

GUAM
Daniel O’Keefe, Swimming, (Male)
Brett Chivers, Laser (Male)
Jazy Garcia, Cycling (Road)
Derek Horton, Cycling (Mountain)
Melissa Fejeran, Weightlifting (Female)
Phil Am Garcia, Athletics (Male) 100 metres
Rhonda Alley-Davidson, Athletics (Female) Marathon

NAURU
Marcus Stephen, Weightlifting (Male)
Sheeva Peo, Weightlifting (Female)
Cherico Detenamo, Athletics (Male)

PALAU
Valerie Pedro, Weightlifting (Female)
Peoria Koshiba, Athletics (Female)
Christopher Adolf, Athletics (Male)
Annloyd Samuel, Swimming (Male)
Nicole Hayes, Swimming (Female)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Dika Toua, Weightlifting (Female)

SAMOA
Pauga Lalau, Boxing
Faafetai Iunatana, Wrestling
Bianca Netzler, Cycling (Female)
Travolta Waterhouse, Judo (Male)

TONGA
Tevita Kofe Ngalu, Weightlifting (Male)

VANUATU
Francois Latil, Archery

Source: ONOC