Iliesa Tora
RNZ Pacific senior sports journalist
Eleven
Pacific Island nations will be represented at the Glasgow
Commonwealth Games scheduled to officially open on Friday
(New Zealand time).
Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati,
Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands,
Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have all sent teams to the
event.
While majority of the athletes will be using
the Glasgow Games to measure their growth in their
respective sport, there are some who will be genuine medal
contenders against the best in the Commonwealth.
There
are 74 nations and territories represented at the this
year’s Commonwealth Games, which includes separate teams for
the four home nations of the United Kingdom – England,
Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
There are also
various overseas territories, and debutants, with Togo and
Gabon making their first appearances.
For the Pacific,
there have been different hurdles as the respective
countries worked on assembling their best for the
Games.
Finance has always topped the list of
challenges island teams faced, particularly with the change
in hosting venue.
But that is now behind the teams as
their focus shifts to participating and competing at the
23rd Commonwealth Games.
The event was originally
planned to be held in Victoria, Australia, but moved to
Glasgow following the initial hosts’ inability to get their
hosting in order.
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Victoria cancelled hosting the 2026
Commonwealth Games due to massive cost blowouts, following
increase in projected costs from the originally budgeted
AU$2.6 billion to around AU$7 billion.
The increased
budget came from the decentralised model that was to be
used, which would see the Games’ events hosted across four
regional hubs in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and
Gippsland.
The Victoria State government withdrew
their hosting rights and paid AU$380 million in compensation
to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth
Games Australia (CGA).
Glasgow put its hand up and
agreed to host, but with a reduced competition format,
settling for only 10 sports from the usual 20, as was the
case at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
So, to Glasgow
the Pacific island teams have flown, with a lot more to pay
for the exercise.
Majority of Pacific Island
contingents have arrived at the host city.
It includes
Team Vanuatu members, who were unable to leave Port Vila on
Monday, but are now on their way to Glasgow because of
flight cancellations.
With the popular sevens rugby
competition not part of the event this time around, Pacific
Island teams would be banking on their weightlifters,
bowlers and judokas to lead their campaigns for
medals.
Weightlifting will see 10 of the 11 Pacific
Island nations competing and should be the sport that will
win the most medals for them.
Samoa
Sefulu
Seuao 16, who nailed 110kg block snatch in the 77kg category
during training in Apia is one medal prospect. Her lift
surpassed the world youth record, which is
106kg.
Another prospect is Seini Stowers, 18, who
totalled a massive 147kg Clean and Jerk in the 77kg category
as well.
There are also John Tafi, Jack Opeloge and
Sanele Mao, who have been creating their own records during
preparations in Apia.
Samoa Association of Sports and
National Olympic Committee (SASNOC) president Tuaopepe
Asiata Jerry Wallwork said at the Team Samoa farewell last
week they will be competing in five sports, with an aim to
improve Samoa’s medal standing globally.
Samoa will be
represented in athletics, boxing, judo, swimming and
weightlifting.
Wallwork said Samoa currently sits in
23rd position in the Commonwealth Games Federation global
ranking out of 70-plus Commonwealth Games
Associations.
He is banking on the weightlifters and
swimming sensation Paige Schendelaar-Kemp, to lead their
medal charge.
Papua New Guinea
Team Papua New
Guinea have a number of medal prospects also in their
ranks.
Weightlifting sisters Thelma and Loa Dika Toua
have been impressive in competitions they have competed at
over the last four years.
In athletics the quartet of
Timothy Tuna, Leroy Kamau, Johnny Bai and Pais Wisil could
spring surprised in the men’s 100 and 200
metres.
Speaking at the team’s farewell in Port
Moresby over the weekend, the PNG Olympic Committee
president Emma Waiwai OL said they are confident their
athletes would perform to their best.
“The
Commonwealth Games are more than a contest of strength and
skill,” she told Team PNG.
“They are a celebration of
unity, friendship, and shared purpose among nations. Your
presence in Glasgow embodies the spirit of Papua New Guinea
– resilient, humble, and courageous.”
She reminded the
athletes that they were going to be competing, standing
“shoulder to shoulder with the very best in the Commonwealth
– world champions, Olympians, athletes who have redefined
what is possible in their
sport”.
Nauru
Weightlifting is Nauru’s main
sport at Glasgow.
Team Nauru has 31 medals to-date
from the Commonwealth Games , including 10 gold, 11 silver
and eight bronze.
They first competed at the 1990
Games and have been at seven so far.
Three Nauruans –
Reanna Solomon, Marcus Stephen and Yukio Peter – have won
gold medals at the Games.
Five others have also won
medals in weightlifting in the past, these being Jalon Renos
Doweiya, Ebonette Deigaeruk, Sheba Deireragea, Mary Diranga,
Itte Detenamo, and Charisma Amoe-Tarrant.
Team Nauru
lifters in the current contingent include Daraidun Canon and
Hamray Temaki, as well as young lifters Johannes Adam and
Margaret Bless-Harris.
The contingent also include an
athletics team of six.
Fiji
Fiji has a
58-member delegation in Glasgow, including athletes and
officials competing across eight sports – athletics, 3×3
basketball, bowls, boxing, judo, para-athletics, swimming,
and weightlifting.
Swimmers David ‘Tolu’ Young and
Kelera Mudunasoko as well as weightlifter Taniela Tuisuva
Rainibogi are returning to the Games and are medal prospects
for the team.
Majority of the contingent is already in
Glasgow.
Swimmers Anahira McCutcheon and Young met
have been training overseas before joining the
team.
Team Fiji’s Jane Wong-Niubalau confirmed the
teams’ arrival on Monday night, Scotland time, with the
majority of the team in one ‘village’ while the swimming
team is at another location closer to the competition
venue.
Runner Yeshnil Karan is also in the running for
a Games medal, along with judoka Gerard Takayawa, who has
been based in Japan.
The Fiji boxing team have had a
10 day training camp in Ireland with coach Cam Todd and met
up with the main team in Glasgow on Monday.
Their para
athlete Sitiveni Konataci along with coach Fesaitu Mario,
who have been based in the UK and Scotland for a GAPS Camp,
will meet up with the main athletics team in Glasgow on
Thursday night.
Other prospects
Tonga is the
only Pacific Island team in netball.
The Tala have
been in Wales where they played warm up matches and held
training runs.
They have a tough road to the top but
they can still finish in the top eight.
Tonga has a
number of athletes who could spring surprises, including
champion thrower ‘Ata Ma’ama Tu’utafaiva.
She won gold
in the women’s Shot Put at the 2026 Polynesian Championships
in Auckland earlier this year, and also claimed gold for
Tonga in the at the 2025 Pacific Mini Games and the 2019
Pacific Games in Apia.
She has competed at previous
Commonwealth Games and has the experience to finish off in
the top medal challengers.
Niue will be banking on
heavyweight boxer Duken Tutakitoa-Williams.
He won
Niue’s first-ever Commonwealth Games medal at the 2022 Games
in Birmingham when he won bronze.
Kiribati’s Ruben
Katoatau, who is going to compete in his third Games, is
also a top medal prospect in weightlifting.
His older
brother David won the country’s first and only Commonwealth
Games medal at the 2014 Games, recording a gold medal lift
in the men’s 105 kilogram category.
Nauru, Samoa, Fiji
and Papua New Guinea also have medal prospects in their
lifting teams.
Fiji and Papua New Guinea are competing
in 3×3 basketball and could also spring some
upsets.
Both Australia and New Zealand are also
represented at the Games.
They also include some
Pasifika heritage athletes in their ranks.
Australia
will feature Fijian native Eileen Cikamatana, who will
compete in the women’s 85kg weightlifting event.
New
Zealand has weightlifters David Liti, Olivia Selemaia, Tui
Alofa Patiolo and Litia Nacagilevu plus basketball rep Ella
Fotu.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will run from 24
July to 2 August.
Meanwhile, Australia, which will be
a dominant powerhouse at the Games, has sent a delegation of
255 elite athletes, while New Zealand has sent its smallest
team in more than four decades with 114
athletes.
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