Weightlifter Erika Yamasaki has been named Australian Flagbearer for the Opening Ceremony of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games.
SAMOA 2019: Weightlifter Erika Yamasaki has been named Australian Flagbearer for the Opening Ceremony of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games.
The 30-year-old will lead members of the Australian team into Apia Park during Sunday night’s Opening Ceremony, signifying the start of the 14-day competition involving 24 Pacific nations.
Yamasaki said she was “shocked” when Chef de Mission and three-time Olympian Ken Wallace rang her the day before departure to share the good news.
“It was very out of the blue, I wasn’t expecting anything like this to happen,” she said.
“Just to be selected is such an honour, because you’re the one person chosen to lead everyone out in front of the crowd.
“I’ve been part of many teams where I’ve seen a flagbearer announced and I’ve always thought it was the biggest honour to be chosen, so to actually be selected is a really proud achievement for me.”
Based in Ipswich, Queensland, Yamasaki was a gymnast before she was Talend ID’d for weightlifting in 2000. Six years later, the then 17-year-old won bronze at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
The Darwin-born athlete has donned the green and gold at numerous World, Oceania, National and State Championships over her 19-year career. She is also a Level 2 coach, International referee, and was awarded Life Membership to the Queensland Weightlifting Association in June 2019 for her contribution to the sport as an athlete and official.
Wallace said while Yamasaki has achieved greatness in the sport, it’s her optimism and positive attitude that made her a suitable flagbearer candidate.
“Erika has a long list of accolades to her name, but what I admire is that she is a humble but fierce competitor, who is well respected amongst her peers and wears her heart on her sleeve,” the Beijing 2008 Olympic champion said.
“Her experience in the Oceania region, especially competing in Australia's Pacific Games debut in Port Moresby, is an invaluable experience that the rest of the Australian Team can learn from.
“She embodies the Australian Olympic Team values and I trust that Erika will lead the Australian Pacific Games Team with honour and pride into the Opening Ceremony this Sunday night.”
Yamasaki was a member of the inaugural Australian Team to compete at the Pacific Games in 2015 where she made history capturing Australia’s first ever gold medal at the Games.
The Queenslander also made history as the first Australian female to clean and jerk double her body weight in 2015. She was in prime condition leading into the Olympic qualifying season for Rio 2016, but her campaign was prematurely cut short due to injury.
With Tokyo 2020 qualification points up for grabs in Samoa this week, she’s thrilled to be returning to her top form and have her achievements recognised.
“I’ve had a few bad years prior to this year, but things are just starting to pick up again,” the 30-year-old said.
“I thought I may be a bit over the hill - getting too old - and in weightlifting I’d reached a point where making small personal bests was becoming really difficult, but things are starting to get better and just last weekend I hit a new personal best in my Total.
“So to still be recognised, to still be selected in Teams and for people to still notice me in this capacity, it’s really special and I feel like I’m still deserving of being on a Team like this.”
The Samoan Games marks the 3rd time the island nation has hosted the event. The 16th edition of the Pacific Games will see 4000 athletes from 24 nations compete across 27 sports, of which 19 are Olympic sports.
The 2019 Pacific Games Opening Ceremony is on Sunday night, with competition kicking off Monday morning and running to July 20.
A live stream of the competition is available HERE. See the full Australian Team list and discover more about Samoa 2019 HERE.
olympics.com.au
