Believe me, this (venue) meets international stand­ards,” said 2022 Pacific Mini Games Weightlifting technical del­egate Paul Coffa in an interview with Variety Monday at the Mari­anas High School gymnasium.

Coffa, who is also the secretary general of the Oceania Weightlift­ing Federation and is there as the International Weightlifting Fed­eration’s technical delegate, was more than satisfied with the 2022 Pacific Mini Games weightlifting venue at the MHS gym.

“The standard of weightlifting here- the equipment, the facilities- is equal to the European champi­onship held last week in Albania,” Coffa said.

“There’s no difference.”

He noted that even the warm-up area meets world standards while the equipment is the same as those used in the Tokyo Olympics.

“You can’t get higher than that,” he added.

Coffa has been to 13 Pacific Games as a technical delegate and he reit­erated that the weightlifting venue on the island and everything in it, is just as good, if not better, than those in the previous games he has attended.

Competition-wise, Coffa believes that the standards will also be very high, adding that among the partic­ipating weightlifters is Australia’s Eileen Cikamatana who previously represented Fiji. She won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Cikamatana is only 22-years-old but has already broken four world junior records.

With world-class athletes compet­ing in a venue that meets world-class standards, Coffa believes that “this event will be like the Rolex of watches.”

The weightlifting competition will be held from 11am to 7pm be­ginning on Monday, June 20, and will continue through Thursday, June 23.

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