Have A Go Olympic Challenge 2024

HAVE A GO AT OLYMPIC SPORTS

FIND YOUR SPORT
Background image

Pacific Games Day 4 Wrap: Family gold for Cikamatana, Archers secure all-Aussie final

 

Pacific Games Day 4 Wrap: Family gold for Cikamatana, Archers secure all-Aussie final

Author image
AOC
Eileen Cikamatana and Rosalina

Catch up with today's Pacific Games results.

Weightlifting - Emotional win for Cikamatana with Pacific Games Record

Eileen Cikamatana won gold in record fashion, breaking the Pacific Games record and tying the Oceania record with a 115kg snatch, 145kg clean and jerk and total of 260kg.


It was an emotional victory for Eileen – competing in front of her grandmother, parents, sister and relatives – and the first time her grandmother Rosaline had ever seen her compete in person.

Born in Solomon Islands before moving to Fiji, Rosaline saw her granddaughter win three gold medals in dominant fashion.

“This is a very special competition for me, one of the best,” Eileen said. “Ever since I started winning medals, I always dreamed of being able to go to loved ones in the crowd and hand over my medal – and today, I feel so special to pass over my medals to my grandmother, here in the place she’s from.

“We were both in tears, we couldn’t utter a word, it left us speechless. Even my dad couldn’t say anything, or my aunty. Mum was able to talk … because mum is mum,” Eileen added with a laugh.

“My grandfather passed away earlier this year, how I wished we had him here with us too, but I’m so happy my grandmother could be here in person.

“Finishing on the podium at Pacific Games is out of this world. Doing it with our friends from all over the Pacific and to catch up with old friends makes it even better.

“The people in the crowd are the most special people in the world to me. It’s a special moment I’ll hold forever.”

Read more here.

Matt Lydement concludes the Australian weightlifting campaign tomorrow morning in the men’s 109kg division.

Archery - All Aussies Through to Gold Medal Match

Archers Laura Paeglis, Sarah Haywood, Peter Boukouvalas and Ryan Tyack progressed through the individual matchplay tournament and will face off against each other for gold tomorrow.

Laura progressed through without dropping a set, defeating Tonga in the quarter-final and New Caledonia in the semis 6-0, with Peter also making short work with a 7-1 quarter-final win over Tahiti and 6-0 defeat of Tahiti in the semi-finals.

Ryan came up against a red-hot New Caledonia, with both archers shooting at a world class level. Ryan eventually prevailed 6-4, which included a tied set with both archers notching a perfect 30/30 from their three arrows. 

Sarah also faced a tough semi-final, defeating New Zealand 6-4 after a back and forth battle, after earlier defeating Tahiti 7-1 against Tahiti.

The teammates will face off tomorrow for individual gold, with Ryan and Laura also set to contest the Pacific Games mixed team bronze medal playoffs, after already winning the Olympic Games Qualifying event on Wednesday.

Sailing - Top two for ILCA-6 Sailors and Kiteboard Learnings

ILCA-6 sailors Evie Saunders and Ellen Sampson topped the leaderboard throughout today’s three races, with Evie taking two wins and a second, with Ellen two seconds and a first.

Ellen’s win in the final race of the day was the first time Evie has tasted defeat in this regatta, with the pair primed at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final two days of racing.

Sailboarder Lachlan Vize (LT79-kg) secured a third and two fourths, while in the LT79+kg Jarrod Jones notched two 3rds and a fourth in their three races.

Seventeen-year-old Lachlan is making the most of the opportunity of going head-to-head against experienced racers, including New Caledonian Olympic sailors.

“There was a fair bit of tide today, wind in the morning that backed off late in the day, but enough to get three races in,” Lachlan said.

“It’s been really good competition, the New Caledonians are so strong, it’s fun and fair racing.

“They’re great, chatting to us about gear setup and things we can take away to improve our own racing.

“The Pacific Games has been a great learning opportunity - learning about when you go to a new place, how you set up for new conditions and get the best performance in a place you haven’t sailed before.

“In the next few days, hopefully we’ll get some more fair racing and try to get to the front of the fleet.”

Day 5 events


Follow the action on our social channels and keep up with the schedule and results here.

MORE ON WEIGHTLIFTING
MORE ON ARCHERY
MORE ON SAILING
MORE ON PACIFIC GAMES
MORE ON SOLOMON ISLANDS 2023 (PACIFIC GAMES)
Top Stories