Apolonia Chasing Triple Gold
Double Commonwealth Championships gold medallist, Apolonia Vaivai will look for another gold when she competes at the Commonwealth Championships & Oceania Weightlifting Championships in Gold Coast on September 8a at 6.15pm.
Vaivai won gold medals in the 75Kg weight category at the Commonwealth Championships in 2015 in Pune, India and again in 2016 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Apolonia is the only weightlifter from Fiji to ever win a Commonwealth title.
She is also the defending champion from the 2016 Oceania Weightlifting Championships. She won gold in the 69kg weight category, in Suva, with a lift of 206Kg, by beating Eileen Cikamatana by a mere 1kg, the narrowest of margins, to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Vaivai is in her best form ever and will look at making it a three gold medals in a row at Commonwealth Championships. She is competing in the 69kg at Gold Coast.
Her main competition will come from Punam Yadav from India, Zoe Smith and Sarah Dvies from England and Phillipa Malone from Australia. All these athletes have lifted above 208kg recently.
Vaivai, Manueli Tulo, Taniela Rainibogi and Poama Qaqa have been preparing for the past several weeks in Suva under the watchful eyes of Della Shaw-Elder, Henry Elder and Joe Vueti.
They will be joined in Gold Coast by Eileen Cikamatana who is training under Paul Coffa at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Noumea.
The team departs for Gold Coast on Sunday with competition starting on Tuesday.
Apart from honours at the Commonwealth and Oceania Championships, the five athletes will be seeking to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, which will be held in Gold Coast in April 2018.
The Fiji Team will be led Manager Chris Yee, National Coaches Joe Vueti and Henry Elder. IWF Category One referee Della Shaw-Elder will be officiating as a Technical Official at the Championships. Weightlifting Fiji president will join the team in Gold Coast.
Weightlifting Fiji is grateful to the Government of Fiji, Fijian National Sports Commission, FASANOC, ONOC, Olympic Solidarity, and Oceania Weightlifting Institute, International Weightlifting Federation, media, sponsors, athletes, coaches, officials and their family members and our well-wishers.
– Weightlifting Fiji
Feedback: oseab@fijisun.com.fj
