Page 27 - IB August 2021

Olympics Olympics

15 National Olympic Associations (NOCs) were able to access Maibuca (Tuvalu), 800m athletics Alex Beddoes (Cook Islands),
training camps, meeting rooms, shared transportation, a re- swimmers Ryan Maskelyne (PNG), Tasi Limtiaco (FSM), boxers
covery hub and medical services at the Olympic Village. Tokyo Ato Plodzicki Faogali (Samoa), Marion Ah Tong (Samoa), judo-
2020 was the third Summer Olympics where the Oceania kas Hugo Cumbo (Vanuatu), Peniamina Percival (Samoa), An-
Continent showcased the true Pacific Way of friendship and drew Joshter (Guam), Tevita Takayawa (Fiji), discus thrower
cooperation through its signature Shared Services Programme Alex Rose (Samoa) and rower Riilio Rii of Vanuatu.
where pooling of resources and skills support athletes at Tokyo 2020 was the first ever gender-balanced Olympic
competition. Games in history, almost 49% of the athletes that competed
In Tokyo – Oceania athletes also created their own history were women, according to the IOC quota allocation. For the
and legacy! first time, all 206 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) were
Fiji’s men and women’s sevens rugby team won gold and required to include at least one female and one male athlete
bronze medals respectively – the men’s team with a back-to- in their respective Olympic teams.
back gold medal win after Rio in 2016. The women’s Fijiana
team, placed eighth in Rio fought their way to beat defending Mental Health Awareness Games
champion Australia in the quarter finals only to lose to even- Apart from COVID-19 restrictions, the empty stands and
tual winner, New Zealand in the semi-final, and beat Great tough competition during the two weeks of the Tokyo 2020
Britain 21-12 in the bronze medal play-off. The podium finish Games, another element to go down in the history books will
for the Fijianas is expected to inspire and transform a genera- be athletes using the world games to speak out about mental
tion of young girls and women in sport in Fiji and the Pacific. health awareness in sports. Sparked by the withdrawal of U.S
Papua New Guinea’s top woman weightlifter, Dika Toua also gymnast Simone Biles from the women’s team final and earlier
created history and left her legacy in the sport – competing in on Japanese tennis star, Naomi Osaka, who publicly admitted
her fifth Olympics, bowing out at 10th place to a field of 14 her own struggles with mental health, all across the Games,
strong lifters. Toua is not new to making history at the Olym- athletes from a wide variety of sports were publicly talking
pics. In Sydney at the 2000 Games she became the very first about the importance of mental health.
female to participate in Olympic weightlifting. At 37, Toua is It was as if Biles flipped a switch and shone a light on some-
considered one of the Pacific’s most successful lifters, with 21 thing that had always been there, just outside of the public
years of competitive weightlifting at both regional and inter- view, reported the Japan Times.
national level to her name.
Two of New Zealand’s most decorated female Olympians Learnings
– Lisa Carrington (canoe sprints) and Dame Valerie Adams Given the logistical challenges and the risks of contracting
(shot-put) also flew the Oceania flag high during the Games. COVID-19 in a major global sporting event with over 80,000
Carrington, now NZ’s most decorated and celebrated Olympic athletes, officials, administrators and media –one very useful
athlete, returned home with 20 medals – seven gold, six silver resource set up by the IOC and local organisers was a one-stop
and seven bronze. Dame Valerie, who returned to competi- information and news portal that was constantly updated with
tive sport after having two children, won a bronze medal, the latest results, news, live updates and coverage of most
her fourth in five Olympics. Dame Valerie said she hoped her of the events on a daily basis. The portal included back-
podium finish will inspire female athletes around the world ground information on all the 11,000 athletes competing in
that they can still get back to top level competition and win, the Games - their sporting achievements, qualification, best
after giving birth. national, regional or world records. This was a useful resource
A number of young and upcoming female Olympians from and background information that journalists were accessing
Oceania were in action in Tokyo – breaking personal and daily for their reports and articles since access and move-
national records, displaying potential for medal contention at ments were limited during the Games. Pooled and credited
the next Olympics. images were also made available for journalists use.
Female Olympians who made their debut in Tokyo and re- Covering the Tokyo Games for athletes from 15 Pacific coun-
corded improved best performances are weightlifters: Kuinini tries is not an easy job. It requires contacts and networks to
Manumua (Tonga), Nancy Abouke (Nauru), Mary Lifu (Solomon help keep tab on all the athletes competing. With assistance
Islands), judoka Kinaua Biribo (Kiribati), taekwondo Malia of the ONOC Communications Team, I was able to establish
Paseka (Tonga), marathon runner Sharon Firisua (Solomon contact with chief de missions (CdMs) of all Pacific countries
Islands), swimmers Cheyenne Rova (Fiji), Judith Meauri (PNG), and access updates on Pacific athletes competing on a daily
Ossisang Chilton (Palau), Taeyanna Adams (FSM), high jumper basis through the social media tool WhatsApp. It was an ef-
Rellie Kaputin (PNG), sprinter Regine Tugade-Watson (Guam) fective and faster way to communicate results and images to
and women wrestler Rckaela Aquino of Guam. the Communications Team who were compiling daily reports
Similarly, male Oceania Olympians to watch out for in the and updates from the Olympic Games and disseminating them
coming years and already eyeing the Commonwealth Games to media organisations, stakeholders and partners throughout
next year and Paris 2024 are sprinters Banuve Tabakaucoro Oceania region.
(Fiji), Ronald Fofofili (Tonga), Scott Fiti (FSM), Adrian Illilau
(Palau), Jonah Harris (Nauru), Latasi Mwea (Kiribati), Karalo editor@islandsbusiness.com

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