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Percy Kean, Fiji Times Online Thursday, May 06, 2010

Fiji's Eroni Radua Jekope in the 69kg category Clean and Jerk competition yesterday.

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Fiji's Eroni Radua Jekope in the 69kg category Clean and Jerk competition yesterday.


WEIGHTLIFTING in the Pacific, particularly Fiji, stands to gain immensely from the hosting of the Oceania Weightlifting Championships in Suva.

Over the years whenever an Oceania meet is conducted for any sport that includes the participation of Australia and New Zealand, then boosted by wide media coverage, one will witness a growth in the standard of athletes involved and the game.

The annual championships celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and doubles up as a Youth Olympic Games qualifier.

The week-long competition at the Yat Sen Hall in Flagstaff was officially opened by the President of Fiji, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, on Tuesday evening.

Ratu Epeli said he was proud and confident to say that in recent years weightlifting had become one of the most successful sports in the region in terms of the number of world class athletes it has produced.

"I have no doubt that this is the direct result of the establishment of the Oceania Weightlifting Institute which has been responsible for providing professional and focussed training in a much more familiar and homely environment for Pacific Islanders," the Ratu Epeli said.

"I would like to think that Fiji made a small contribution to this success when the Institute was first established in Sigatoka about six years ago. "

The institute then moved to Samoa but is now based in Noumea.

Ratu Epeli congratulated Paul Coffa, the coach at the institute and secretary general of Oceania Weightlifting Federation, for the sterling work he carried out on all our behalf.

The quality handbook produced by organisers for the event highlights the achievements of the region's best lifters, including Fiji's Maria Liku, Joe Vueti and Manueli Tulo.

Tulo, who competes in the 56kg category, set new Pacific and Oceania records when he scooped four gold medals on Tuesday night to add to his golden haul at the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games held in India. He is the first Fijian ever to be ranked number one in Oceania for junior and senior levels.

Weightlifting is a sport whereby Pacific islanders can compete with anybody in the world.

Itte Detenamo of Nauru in the +105kg category is number one in the Commonwealth, which makes him the Commonwealth's strongest man.

Peter Yukio, also of Nauru, in the 77kg class is a silver medallist at the world championships; Manuel Minginfel of Federated States of Micronesia was also silver medallist at the world championship.

Ele Opeloge of Samoa was number four in the Beijing Olympic Games -- she lifted the performance of a bronze medallist but unfortunately the bar fell backwards -- she came fourth by one kilogram.

This is a sport for the Pacific's natural strong man and woman. There are other sports without doubt which athletes can excel in but this is a true sport of the islanders whereby Pacific athletes can compete with the best at the world stage.

They can be better.

With assistance and guidance of people like Coffa, who is the lifeblood in weightlifting, supported by help from experienced sports administrators like those in FASANOC and various countries National Olympic Committee the sky is the limit.

On the home-front Weightlifting Fiji has been on the way up for the last 20 months where we have witnessed a dramatic change in terms of performances, governance and structures.

With new young vibrant personnel on board, the executive headed by former athletics stalwart Atma Maharaj, our lifters can visualise progress and pots of gold at the end of the rainbow.

With the recent change of name from Fiji Weightlifting Federation to a more consumer focused brand of Weightlifting Fiji the sport is expected to grow considerably over the next few years.

From the opening day of the OWC one could see the quality of the championships. This can be attributed to the help of administrators from other sports -- like Alini from netball, Caroline from basketball, Lorraine from badminton, Inoke from baseball, the karate artists taking advantage to add to their coffers and the many volunteers who will make the 2010 event a success.

They say "two heads are better than one". So with this type of selfless support spearheaded by officials of FASANOC and ONOC the sport will be a winner in years to come as Weightlifting Fiji continues to tap into the best resources available.

Maharaj outlined his philosophy: "If I want to become the world's best weight-lifting coach I go and find the world best weightlifters and that's it. So we have gone out and got the best people to do the job."

As for the future our upcoming lift-ers are young athletes and must be supported.

Apart from being competitive in the sport, Tulo being the most successful, WF has further inspired the young lifter from Levuka to attain his Level Two coaching certification.

It's now a matter of going into the future and doing something to develop the sport at grassroots level.

WF has been talking to the Rabi Island Council, Rotuma Island Council and a number of other communities to take up the sport of weightlifting.

So hopefully with the system they got now, Levuka will be the hub of the sport, then there are plans to prop up the Suva lifters .

A number of athletes in Suva have gone on to represent the country like Rupeni Varea, Ivy Shaw and Apelo Turaganivalu to name a few.

For the last 12 months the focus has been on the youths who can qualify to participate in the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore from August 14 to 26.

Because a system is going there is optimism that officials will find the right people who they can influence and encourage in the community like in Levuka, which will host the Fiji Games weightlifting competition in June.

"But this is not just about Levuka, this is about Fiji. Like athletics some time back when the Fiji Amateur Athletics Federation had 13 centres going like in Ba, Nausori, Sigatoka and other districts," Maharaj said.

Once they get the model right then WF can inspire the others to come on board.

Hopefully in the next two years WF will have five or six centres going.

Like I have mentioned the Sport has the potential win medals not only at South Pacific Games but Oceania, Commonwealth, Olympic and world championships.

Fiji won eight gold medals at the Mini South Pacific Games in Rarotonga, so the potential is there. Tulo's achievement at the opening day's competition under way in Flagstaff and his record over the last two years has done Fiji proud again.

Like Tulo, those who show commitment and dedication can further their training at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute through funding by various programs like Oceania National Olympic Committee with further assistance from government and corporate funding.

These are areas administrators working behind the scene must put in place to help young and aspiring lifters. There is an intention of setting up similar programs but WF wants to first get five or six centres going.

With its Gold Partners and sponsors on board for long term deals like Pacific Sun, Patterson Brothers plus other potential backers on the horizon, Maharaj and his band of proactive WF administrators are on track for a grand harvest.

So when the end picture does turn out right, hopefully it will ensure the growth of the sport to new heights.

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