Pacific Games 2019

Papua New Guinea’s Morea Baru also made headlines in the men’s 61kg, setting new Oceania and Commonwealth records on day 3 of the Pacific Games.

The day’s first event at Gym 1 Faleata was the women’s 59kg where Yamasaki, Australia’s flag bearer, claimed her country’s first gold medals of the Games. She topped the podium in the snatch, clean and jerk and overall. Jenly Wini of the Solomon Islands collected all three silvers, while Australia’s Seen Lee won the trio of bronze.

Fiji claimed the historic inaugural title on Tuesday evening, while Cook Islands beat Samoa 24-10 to collect bronze.

The gold medal match was a tight affair and remained scoreless for much of the first half before Fiji’s Timaima Ravisa scored a breakaway try to give her side a 4-0 lead at the break.

The Youth and Junior Oceania and Commonwealth Championships will also be held in conjunction with the Samoa 2019 competition.

Last time at the Port Moresby 2015 XVI Pacific Games, weightlifting was hotly contested. PNG topped the medal table with 13 golds and a total of 21, closely followed by Samoa with 12 golds and a higher overall total of 23 medals. Australia claimed 29 medals in total, but only 6 golds.

Samoa, PNG and Australia will again be among the teams to watch at Samoa 2019.

There are different local caterers assigned to every venue’s dining halls, including on Savai’i, where Boxing will take place, with test runs of all their menus in preparation when the Games open on Sunday 7 July.

“There are caterers specifically for athletes and Technical Officialsand others for volunteersandVIPs,” said Analosa Manuele, Catering Coordinator of the Pacific Games Office.

“For the Pacific Games, we are working together with the caterers to make sure that the meals provided are hot, fresh, nutritious and safe for consumption.

Representing Vanuatu since the age of 18, she has been collaborating with veteran player and mentor

Miller Pata for the past nine months. Tinny – as she is affectionately known – has competed across

Asia and Australia this year, finishing in the top five in four out of last six FIVB tournaments, one of

which saw the pair win a silver medal in Satun, Thailand.

Toko, who comes from Ambae, one of the northern islands of Vanuatu, initially played indoor volleyball

Chef de Mission, Emma Waiwai, says these athletes are primed, fit and ready to battle it out with the best of the best.

“Four years have seen our athletes sacrifice their comfort zones and their family time to prepare for these games,” Waiwai said at the Team PNG farewell function yesterday evening in Port Moresby.

“Each athlete going is the best for each sport.

“To me to be given the co-captains role alongside Deslyn and Sandra is a big achievement for me,” she said.  

“I am so proud to fly my country’s flag at the Pacific Games and being given the co-captaincy role was something I never expected.

“There were few other senior players in the squad and leading the team ahead of them is challenging for me.”

The Mekeo lass said she has received a lot of support from teammates and officials.

The ministry said it wants the Games to be free of mosquito-bourne diseases like dengue fever and is spraying all the games venues and the accommodation village before athletes and officials arrive.

A Sanitation Surveillance Officer said the games village had previously been swarming with mosquitoes so spraying it is a top priority.

The ministry is appealing to the public for help in clearing rubbish such as discarded car tyres which can collect water and become mosquito breeding sites.

The Samoan Methodist Church and Samoa 2019 held a ceremony to mark the handover of the site.

"On behalf of the Government of Samoa and the Games Organising Committee, I would like to thank the President and the Methodist Church for availing the Faleula Methodist Compound for the XVI Pacific Games," said Loau Solamalemalo Keneti Sio, the Samoa 2019 chairman.

"Through this wonderful support from the Methodist Church, athletes and officials will get a chance to experience Samoan culture and our world famous hospitality."

“It’s a really good experience for the students to be involved in the choir in [the biggest] event that has ever happened here in Samoa,” said student Meafou Fiaui.

For Meafou, a young and passionate singer, performing at one of the largest sporting events in the Pacific is something that she had never imagined.

“Music class teaches you about notes and things like that, but going to the big stage you learn different kinds of voices,” she says.

“You have to know the different people that have different parts in the choir in order for you to know your part.”