[Source: Weighttlifting Fiji]

Fiji won two bronze medals at the Oceania Weightlifting Online Championships.

Sebiuta Talamaiwasa won a bronze in the women’s 71kg and Taniela Rainibogi in the men’s 96kg categories.

Team Captain Patrick Tawake narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the 81kg category after finishing third following the snatch competition and going into the clean and jerk with the next lifter registering 10kg less.

Unfortunately, he failed to register a lift in the clean and jerk which left him without a total and subsequently dropping to fifth.

Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Apolonia Vaivai unfortunately didn’t make the weight for her 76kg category and was unable to participate.

Weightlifting Fiji fielded a nine member team consisting of four women and five men.

The Levuka based athletes had been in camp at their training venue which is located at the coach’s residence in Baba settlement prior to the lockdown so they weren’t affected with any restrictions.
In a statement, WF President Della Shaw-Elder said after a long six months competition drought, weightlifters from around the Oceania region converged via online live virtual competition from the 23rd to the 26th of September.

After many challenges faced due to Covid-19 restrictions Suva based athletes managed to get into their own training and competition bubble a month out from the championship.

While the initial squad had been set at 16, the lockdown, Covid-19 restrictions and boarder closures meant that Weightlifting Fiji could only include those athletes that we’re within their borders.

The Online host country Australia worked hard in conjunction with Oceania Weightlifting to make the competition possible following several failed attempts to stage the competition in person in Nauru.