SAMOA 2019: Australia has wrapped up the first week of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games with a total of 35 medals (13 gold, 8 silver and 12 bronze).

With nine medals up for grabs in every weightlifting category – for the snatch, clean and jerk, and total – the majority of Australia’s week one medals came from the Australian Weightlifting Team.

The first medal of the Games was won by Australian Flag Bearer and 2015 Pacific Games gold medallist Erika Yamasaki. The 30-year-old took a clean sweep of the women’s 59kg gold medals with an 80kg snatch and 103kg clean and jerk for a 183kg total.

She was joined on the podium by London 2012 Olympian and teammate Seen Lee in the bronze medal position. Seen lifted 78kg in the snatch and 101kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 179kg.

There were two other Aussies who claimed the Pacific Games title with a clean sweep of the three categories: Kiana Elliott(W64kg) and Kaitlyn Fassina (W87kg).

Brandon Wakeling also walked away with the Total gold medal after winning clean and jerk gold (167kg) and snatch silver (123kg) for a golden total of 209kg.

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Australia’s non-weightlifting gold medal came from the Men’s Beach Volleyball duo of Tim Dickson and Marcus Ferguson.

The pair had a smooth run straight through to the gold medal match, having won every previous game in straight sets.

They faced Tahiti in the final, and after they won the first set 21-8, it was looking to be another straight-set win.

However, 24-year-old Dickson strained his quadricep at the end of the opening set, and was no longer able to jump at the net or dive for the ball. Tahiti made the most of Australia’s misfortune, coming back hard to win the second set 21-19.

After an injury time out for Dickson in the third set, the Aussies gritted their teeth and pushed through to win the set 15-11 to come out the eventual gold medallists.

Read more about the nail-biting game HERE.

The women’s pair of Stef Weiler and Britt Kendall defeated New Caledonia and Palau, but lost to American Samoa on their way to facing Vanuatu in the semi-final.

Vanuatu proved too strong for the Aussies, taking the win in two sets (21-13, 21-16), causing an end to Australia’s female beach volleyball campaign in Samoa.

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Australia’s Women’s Rugby Sevens team won silver at Samoa 2019, going down to Fiji in the final.

Australia and Fiji both sailed through the earlier rounds, putting massive points on the score board. It was inevitable the two stand-out teams would face off for the gold medal.

However, the Fijian team proved to be the stronger team on the day, defeating the young Aussie Team 14-5. Fiji was also the dominant team in the men’s competition, defeating the host nation in the final 7-5.

Catch up on the sevens final HERE.

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Sailor Paris van den Herik waved the Aussie flag in the Women’s Laser Radial during week 1 of the Games. It was a turbulent week for van den Herik, with a couple of cracking races where she placed in the top 3, and a couple of disappointing races including one disqualification.

The 18-year-old’s ‘never give up’ attitude was her strongest asset through the long week of competition, and she finished on the podium with a bronze medal.

Van den Herik said the Pacific Games have been a very steep learning curve for her, and the invaluable experience will make her a stronger competitor in the long run.

Read more about Paris’s Samoa experience HERE.

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Catch up on the beautiful Flag Raising Ceremony and Opening Ceremony.

Coming up in week 2…
Sailing
Men’s Laser Sailor Will Sargent, and mixed Hobie Cat team of Sarah Hoffman and Thomas Dawson kick off their Samoa 2019 campaign on Monday, and will compete through the week with final races scheduled for Friday.

Athletics
The Athletics competition kicks off in Week 2, with six Aussie athletes vying for medals, and Tokyo 220 qualification points that are on offer in Samoa.

London 2012 Olympian Steve Solomon will be the first athlete to hit the track in the men’s 400m heats on Tuesday morning, with the finals on Wednesday evening. Also on Tuesday will be Hammer Thrower Alex Hulley and 800m runner Keely Small.

Ian Dewhurst competes on Wednesday afternoon in the men’s 400m hurdles heats, with the finals scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Bianna Beahan will be the only Aussie in action on Thursday in the women’s 100m hurdles, while Emmanuel Fakiye will have wait to the final day of competition for his Pacific Games debut, the men’s triple jump.

Taekwondo
Australia will be represented by a 15-strong Taekwondo Team at Samoa 2019. Majority of the men will compete on Tuesday, except lightweight fighters Safwan Khalil and Mackensie Singleton who will compete on Wednesday. All eight Aussie females will compete on Wednesday.

See the full Taekwondo team HERE.

Georgia Thompson
olympics.com.au