Pacific Mini Games 2009

Day

Friday, Septmber 25, 2009

Coverage of the Pacific Mini Games 2009, Cook Islands

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Events and Draws:

Events and latest draws

4 records broken

The Cook Islands mens oe vaka crew.

They'll be puffing today the Cook Islands mens oe vaka crew start as a medal prospect in the 15km ocean race. 090924100

LESLIE Copeland broke his mentor’s long standing record in the men’s javelin to set up a new record of 74.98m in Pacific Mini Games.
Former Fiji javelin thrower James Goulding’s old record of 73.58m was set back in 1997.
Copeland, 21, was happy with his gold throw and new record distance.
“I’m really happy with the win, I have been waiting for this for a very long time,” he said.
“This is just a beginning for me and this win to me is a stepping stone. I will work harder to achieve similar results in upcoming events.”
The University of the South Pacific student had been breaking national records back at home.
He has been competing in the Oceania regional championship since 2006 and has dominated the event since.
Copeland’s ultimate goal is to represent Fiji in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Four records have been broken so far in this PMG.
Tonga’s Ana Po’uhila broke the first record of the games in women’s discus record on Tuesday.
Sprint queen Makelesi Bulikiobo broke the women’s 100m record after setting a new time of 11.97s.
New Caledonia’s Frederic Erin broke the 20-year-old record in men’s long jump event twice. His first jump was 7.72m which he later improved to 7.73m. - Rashneel Kumar

It’s medals crunch time

Fijian tennis player Annie Shannon.

Fiji’s Annie Shannon gets down low during her clash with Tahiti’s Ravahere Rauzy yesterday. 09092478

Cook Islands men’s and women’s pairs and triples teams are in the hunt for medals on the last day of round play at the Rarotonga Bowling Club today.
The women’s triples team of Nane Tere, Mata Akavi and Tai Tangi will need to beat Samoa this morning to guarantee a gold, while the pairing of Canny Vaile and Mou Tokorangi will also need a win today to win gold.
The men’s pairing of David Akaruru and Nelson Akava are sitting behind Fiji, and the team of Denis Tokorangi, Vaine Henry and Ioane ‘Vou’ Ina Tou are currently in fourth place.
The medal presentation is scheduled for 1pm.
It also gets down to the business part of the athletics programme today with finals in 10 events at BCI Stadium.
The day’s programme begins with the men’s high jump final which will feature Kris Williamson from the Cook Islands.
Samantha Lockington will continue her quest for a medal in the women’s heptathlon in the long jump, javelin and 800m.
Tonight’s athletics programme ends with the women’s and men’s 200m.
The fourth and final round of golf hits off today, with medals looking likely for the host nation. First tee off is at 7.30am, the second at 11am. The medal presentation will be held at 6.30pm at the Rarotonga Golf Club at Nikao.
At the Telecom Sports Arena, Niue and Tonga will play off for fifth and sixth in the netball at 1pm.
In the medal playoffs, Cook Islands will play Fiji at 3pm while Papua New Guinea will take on Tokelau at 5pm.
The winners will go on to play for the gold medal tomorrow afternoon.
Also at the TSA will be the last day for the squash team events. The Cook Islands women have a bye, while New Caledonia play Fiji at 9am and Papua New Guinea play Samoa at 5pm. In the men’s division Fiji plays the Cooks at 5pm and New Caledonia plays Samoa at 1pm.
The gold medal playoffs in table tennis team events take place at 6pm at Aroa Nui hall. The bronze medal playoffs will start at 3.30pm.
There is no boxing tonight. The boxing finals will be staged at the National Auditorium tomorrow night at 7 o’clock.
Sailing continues in the Hobie 16 and laser classes on Aitutaki lagoon today, beginning at 9.30am.
Play in the singles, men’s and mixed doubles take place at the national tennis centre at Nikao. The women’s singles and men’s doubles start at 8am, while the mixed doubles and men’s singles will hit off at 1pm.
The finals at the open touch football competition will begin at 9am. The medal presentation is scheduled to take place at the CIFA facility at Matavera at 5pm.
Oe vaka moves to the Avarua wharf today for the V1 women’s 10km marathon starting at 8.30am and the men’s 15km event at 12 noon. - MM

Esther relies on friends

Tonga’s 20-year-old table tennis player Esther Vi from the village of Haveluloto says “without friends where would anyone be”.
Esther, who gets pumped before a game by just talking and having fun with her mates, says laughing and gossiping is something she loves to do a lot, besides playing table tennis.
Esther has been nicknamed the “bulldog” by her friends because her village Haveluloto translated in English means Bulldog.
Esther says that she is not offended by the name but instead feels proud because it was where she was born and raised.
She says that she is one of the lucky ones in her team, because she has all her best friends taking part in the same sport, and they keep motivating each other to do their best.
- Tiare Ponini

Anti-doping tests begin at random

The first anti-doping tests at the Pacific Mini Games were taken on Tuesday.
Natanya Kavatahi Potoi from the Oceania Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) in Fiji says that a number of tests that will be taken during the games will be kept confidential.
However, Potoi, who is the administrator at Oceania RADO, says testing, with financial assistance from the international sports federations, will help double the number of tests taken at Palau games in 2005.
With each test costing at least $700, Potoi says in-competition testing will involve randomly selecting from those who win medals, or from those whose countries which do not come into contact with testing on a regular basis.
Potoi says the latter category is usually done for educational purposes to make athletes from those countries aware of the protocols involved in anti-dope testing.
As well as conducting an anti-doping programme at the mini games, Potoi says they are also promoting an athletes outreach labelled ‘the voices of the athletes’.
The outreach is supported by the Oceania National Olympic Committee athletes commission (with the slogan ‘be a leader’), Oceania RADO (play true) and Stop HIV (play safe).
The outreach is an interactive programme which requires athletes to take a pledge, complete a doping control quiz, and create a logo for a condom brand.
Potoi says creating awareness and obtaining information on anti-doping for Pacific islands athletes, is very important.
“Everyone who is involved in sport should get the information and get the facts. All the top sportspeople in the world know about anti-doping right down to the details.”
The medical centre, which is situated in the home economics block at Tereora College, houses the doping control station, and has information pamphlets on doping.
Once an athlete is selected at these games to be tested, Potoi says only the athlete is informed and s/he must immediately report to a doping control station, with a chaperone. The athlete can only be excused from reporting immediately if s/he has to attend a medal ceremony, needs medical attention, or has to fulfil media commitments. At all times after notification, the athlete must be in full view of a chaperone.
Potoi says that testing can be intimidating and can offend some who are not familiar with the protocols.
When giving a urine sample in a beaker, Potoi says that this must be done in full view of the chaperone, and the samples must be poured into two bottles by the athlete – first in the B bottle and then the A bottle. These are sealed, paperwork completed and the samples are sent to a Sydney laboratory for testing.
Potoi adds that usually any news about tests is “bad news” and this is normally communicated to the international federation and the World Anti-Doping Agency, which then informs the national organisation and the athlete involved.
If a positive test is obtained, Potoi says the athlete can opt to have his/her B sample tested.
Potoi, who assisted with anti-doping at the World Youth Netball Championships, says that the Cook Islands has two doping control officers – Mata Iroa and Charlie Numanga – and six chaperones to help out with the process at these games.
- Moana Moeka’a

Sporting Pulse gets results

Sporting Pulse business development manager Edwina Ricci and her team have their hands full gathering and collating the results of all 15 sports being played at the Pacific Mini Games.
Sporting Pulse is the home of grassroots sport on the internet and one of the most popular sports networks in Australia that provides events like PMG with the IT tools to manage their competitions and websites.
The Pacific Mini Games website is part of the Sporting Pulse site where each day’s results are being filed – most of them immediately after each competition.
Ricci met with media covering the event at the press centre yesterday to offer to assist with result information they need.
Her team has been working on making the online results faster, more efficient and user-friendly for media.
“We are trying to capture as much information about what goes on in the field as we can,” she says.
The games medal tally will become more important as the event moves into its second week and Ricci’s team will make this more comprehensive as they go.
While Sporting Pulse wants more feedback from media on the set up of its website, Ricci says their limitation is human resources.
She has been training people, some of whom are new to the computer software, to upload results to the website.
This work is seen as a legacy for the games.
“It’s because you can go back in years to come and see this legacy still there,” she says.
So far Ricci says their best relationship has been with local media such as CINews, which is supplying stories and photos from its own website, and hopes more regional media can provide games images for Sporting Pulse.
Results postings on the website are improving – you can check it out by going to www.2009pacificgames.co.ck, which links straight to www.sportingpulse.com - HG

Right place

Seven BCI customers who were at the bank on Wednesday were rewarded with free passes to yesterday’s events at the BCI Stadium.
Each day the ticket sales outlet and major sponsor of the games is giving away tickets randomly to those entering the Avarua branch.
On Wednesday valued BCI customers who received passes/tickets were Tereapii Enua, Tai Ravarua, Wayne Robati, Laz Samson, Ngamata Timote, Bates Manea, and Keiler Tetava. - BCI

Touch rugby gold in reach

Vaine Ben of the Cook Islands touch rugby team.

Vaine Ben of the Cook Islands touch rugby team is all smiles on the field. 09092427

The Cook Islands men’s touch team are almost certain to take out the gold medal in the tournament today if they keep up their winning form.
The men’s team topped the round competition by winning all their matches with a massive 13-5 win over PNG, a cruisey 7-1 win over Niue and a 6-3 win over Fiji yesterday.
The team will face number two team Samoa today in the playoffs with the winner going straight to the finals.
In other men’s playoff matches, number three Fiji will face number four Niue with the winner to play the looser of the CI versus Samoa match.
Papua new Guinea will play the loser of the Fiji versus Niue match.
In the women’s competition, the Cooks suffered at the hands of Niue 1-3 for their first defeat to put them in the number two spot for today’s playoffs.
Losing the match brought some harsh realities home to the team who won their first match of the day against Papua New Guinea 9-8.
After losing the match, team coach Teokotai Tuaivi told his team that he saw a bunch of individuals playing and not a team.
He said that they should have won the match and that Niue weren’t really as good as them – they just made them look good.
The local girls will really have to pull their socks up if they are to retain their gold medallist title as they face Niue again this morning in the playoffs.
The winner of this match will go straight to the finals with the loser to play the winner of the second play off match between Samoa and Papua New Guinea.
The winner of this match will go to the finals while the loser will play Fiji.
The CIFA grounds in Matavera are the place to be today to watch the playoffs, semis and finals of the men’s and women’s touch rugby competition.
Next week the mixed touch competition will begin.
Today’s draw is on page 7.
- Matariki Wilson

It’s decider time

Cook Islands’ hopes of staying alive in the men’s teams tennis contest of the Pacific Mini Games were being decided under lights at the National Tennis Centre last night.
Brett Baudinet and Sam Tangaroa were up against Vanuatu’s Jerome Rovo and Cyril Jacobe in the final sorting out of who will go through to semi-finals out of Pool C.
Both Tangaroa and Baudinet lost their respective singles matches earlier in the day and a straight set win last night would have been essential take them into the play-offs.
Cook Islands’ number one Baudinet went down 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Cyril Jacobe after an injury at the end of the first set which required some impromptu on court osteopathy from the team physiotherapist.
Earlier Sam Tangaroa couldn’t come to terms with his Vaunatu number two opponent Jerome Rovo who romped home with a 6-0, 6-1 win.
Cook Islands women’s team fared better yesterday with Davina Hosking and Brittany Teei wining their team’s singles matches against Tonga’s Melbourne-based Prescott sisters, Irene and Sarah.
Hosking beat 15-year-old Irene Prestcott 6-1, 6-0 and Teei beat her 16-year-old sister Sarah 6-0, 6-0.
At midday Hosking teamed up with Norah Browne to make harder work of beating the Prescotts in the doubles 7-6, 6-2.
Tennis continues at the National Tennis Centre today with semi-finals and finals of the teams events.
- Gray Clapham

Chaos on court – Cooks lose to PNG

Cook Islands ace goal defender Luciana Matenga.

Cook Islands ace goal defender Luciana Matenga is bumped out of the way by a Papua New Guinea player during yesterdays upset match. 09092489

Papua New Guinea told the Cook Islands yesterday that they were not here to play friendly netball when they launched a massive come-back to overthrow a surprised Cooks team 67-63.
Disbelieving local netball fans watched on as the Cook Islands team self destructed in the last quarter of the game after leading the game in both the first and second quarters.
After a three-point lead in the first quarter (16-13), the Cooks continued their dominance to comfortably win the second quarter 33-27.
The fans were cheering and the Cooks looked like they were ready to take the match outright, but they underestimated Papua New Guinea’s drive to win the match.
Papua New Guinea dug deep and hunted down every ball, frustrating the Cook Islands in the process and causing the local side to make errors until they drew level at 47-all after the third quarter.
What should have been an error free last quarter for the Cooks was anything but.
Shots missed, passes going astray and defenders off the mark – it was a chaotic local side in the last quarter as Papua New Guinea capitalised on the mistakes to clinch the match at 67-63.
But it isn’t all bad news for the Cooks as they now face Fiji in today’s semi finals match at 2pm. A win would put them in the gold medal finals on Saturday against the winner of the match between Papua New Guinea and Tokelau at 5pm today.
The Cook Islands girls need to find the winning form that saw them through to this stage of the competition as they are very capable of winning the gold medal.
In the other match yesterday, Fiji easily disposed of Tokelau 57-27. - MW

Games connect family

Faitoa and her brother Francis have been reunited by the 2009 Pacific Mini Games.

Faitoa and her brother Francis have been reunited by the 2009 Pacific Mini Games. 09092409

It is not unusual to have siblings in sports teams representing their country. The unusual thing about this family is that they are representing two different countries – Faitoa, 20, is a weightlifter for Samoa and her brother Francis, 18, is a long distance runner for Nauru.
They have been separated since their parents’ marriage broke up four years ago.
Francis remained in Nauru with his mother, while Faitoa left with her father to live in Samoa. Although they have been able to keep in touch by distance, meeting each other at this Pacific Mini Games has been the first time that they have actually seen each other since Faitoa left Nauru.
Although they are living in separate camps – Faitoa is with Samoa at Nukutere College in Avarua while Francis is withNauru at Tereora College in Nikao – they have tried to make as much time as possible to be with each other, in between their training sessions.
They spent a night at the boxing where they watched Cook Islander Panapa Hagai beat his New Caledonian opponent in the final bout of the evening.
Before Francis left Nauru, their mother gave him a special gift. She didn’t want to waste the opportunity of his being able to see his sister and she is missing her daughter so much that she bought Francis a camera so that he could take a whole pile of photos of his sister while she is here on Rarotonga.
So the Pacific Mini Games has enabled a very happy reunion.
Both Francis and Faitoa have been able to share some valuable moments together before they are again parted for who knows how long before they will see each other again.
No doubt there will be lots of memories and photos to take home to their parents – in Samoa and in Nauru.
- PMG Media
(Maureen Hilyard)

Louisa plays a blinder

Top Cook Islands female table tennis player, 17-year-old Louisa Manico.

Top Cook Islands female table tennis player, 17-year-old Louisa Manico, keeps her eye on the ball as she prepares to slam another serve to her Solomon Islands opponent yesterday. PHOTO BY MATARIKI WILSON 09092419

Cook Islands table tennis player Louisa Manico had a blinder at the table tennis teams competition yesterday.
The 17-year-old and her fellow team mates, two being her older sisters Nekeaere and Travel, faced a tough Solomon Islands team.
Manico won all three of her matches beating Solomon Islands Lydra Ta’ake 11-9, 11-9, 11-8 first up.
She continued her winning trend against Mary Sutamauri (11-2, 11-6, 11-9) and Connie Sifi (11-5, 12-10, 11-4).
Her older sister Nekeaere also registered a win against Mary Sutamauri only dropping one game 11-9, 11-9, 8-11, 11-1.
The youngest team member Ana Pere (14) had very tough and close matches but was edged out in all three of her games.
The youngster was certainly disappointed but with her supportive team rallying around her she kept her head up and looks forward to the remainder of the teams event and next week’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles event.
The local girls have yet to register a team win but they are still staying positive. - MW

Bring on the fun says Ana

Eye on the ball, Ana Pere prepares to serve.

Eye on the ball, Ana Pere prepares to serve. 09092422

Smashing ping pong balls is high on this 14-year-old girl’s list of things to do during the mini games holidays.
Ana Pere (pictured), who is a year 9 student at Tereora College, will be competing over the next few days at the Aroa Nui Hall in Arorangi .
She will be representing the Cook Islands for the third time in table tennis.
Ana is ranked number three in her group and is looking forward to the tough competition she will be getting from the visiting teams.
With a wide smile, Ana says, “Bring on the fun”.
- Tiare Ponini

Gold looks likely for CI bowls teams

Cook Islands bowls player Vaine Henry rolls a bowl down the green, watched on by lead Ioane Inatou.

It was too little too late for the Cook Islands mens triples team last evening as they bowed out of the medals with a loss to Samoa. Vaine Henry rolls a bowl down the green, watched on by lead Ioane Inatou. PHOTO GRAY CLAPHAM 09092484

Two teams of Cook Islands women’s bowlers have the scent of gold as they go into the final round of play in the PMG lawn bowls pairs and triples play today.
The Cook Islands triples combination of Nane Tere, Mata Akavi and Teokotai Jim are top placed and just need a steady performance to take away the gold medal.
The women’s pairs team is in an equally strong position with a great chance of booking up a gold medal by the end of today.
The local triples has so far won three of four rounds with six match points from six sets. Today they play their nearest rivals Samoa who are in a similar position with six match points but have won just four sets.
Commenting on their prospects of winning a gold medal today, technical advisor Kerry Clark says the women’s triples division is close but if Cook Islands play a reasonable game today against Samoa they are in the running for gold. If they lose to Samoa however they will probably hold on to the silver position.
Still in contention for the minor medals are Niue, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
In the men’s triples Fiji are guaranteed a gold medal having won all their games so far and have taken seven sets of eights. They have the gold medal in the bag.
The question of the silver medal should be sorted out between Samoa who is currently second and Papua New Guinea following.
In the men’s pairs after three rounds Fiji are leading having won all their games and all sets. Round four was underway last night under lights. Behind Fiji are Samoa and Cook Islands.
In the women’s pairs, Cook Islands is leading having won all their games and five out of six sets. The local pair is in a good place to take the gold medal on offer by the end of today. The closest challenge is coming from Tokelau who have won two out of three games.
- Gray Clapham

Tuvalu raise flag

Tuvalu and Enuamanu school at the accommodation village flag raising beside the Princess Anne hall at Tereora College.

Tuvalu and Enuamanu school at the accommodation village flag raising beside the Princess Anne hall at Tereora College. 09092411

The Tuvalu delegation and representatives from Enuamanu School in Atiu, held a flag-raising ceremony yesterday signalling the visiting team’s presence in the Pacific Mini Games village.
Tuvalu, under Sylia Tevao, includes another two officials and a sprinter Asenate Manoa, arrived at last weekend and the delegation is housed at Tereora College.
Two weightlifters are due in this weekend.
The ceremony was held just outside the main entrance to the Princess Anne hall, just as athletes, officials and volunteers, around Tereora, were tucking into lunch.
Deputy principal Tira Tararo spoke on behalf of the host school, saying they would be at the BCI Stadium today to cheer on Manoa in the 200m heats.
While the flag was being raised, the national anthem was sung, led by the resident Atiu doctor’s wife, (Teka’ai) Nelesone who is on Rarotonga for the games.
- Moana Moeka’a

Isac makes Niue history

Niuean sprinter Lagaua Isac (far right) withthe Fijian sprinters Niko Verekauta (middle) and Banuve Tabakaucoro.

Niuean sprinter Lagaua Isac (far right) withthe Fijian sprinters Niko Verekauta (middle) and Banuve Tabakaucoro. PHOTO CHRISTOPER CHAND 09092482

LAGAUA Isac will have his name written down in the history books of Niue.
The 19-year-old won the first medal in the athletics event for the country during the 100 metres dash at the BCI Stadium on Wednesday.
Isac was thrilled to win the bronze medal in a time of 10.75 seconds behind the Fijian duo during the 2009 Pacific Mini Games.
Clearly exhausted by his toil after the event and perhaps stunned by the achievement, Isac was more relieved than elated as he received Niue’s first-ever athletics medal.
“I’m just too happy about the achievement. This was my first Mini Games and I’m really satisfied with the outcome,” he said.
“The race was really good and I have to do a lot of training to maintain my pace. I gathered heaps of confidence in this race and hope to improve in upcoming meets.”
Athletics is something that runs in his blood and Isac believes that it is through his father’s inspiration he has been able to achieve this feat.
“My dad used to be an athlete during his time back in the island and I think I got this trait from him.”
Born and bred in Auckland, New Zealand, Isac seriously started running back in 2007. He represented Niue in Pacific Games in Samoa but bombed out in the preliminary rounds.
However, this failed to dampen the sports and recreational science student from Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) to achieve Niue’s first medal.
“I was really inexperienced that time, as that was my first regional event, but I didn’t get discouraged by my results. I trained hard for this day and finally I got what I have been aiming for.”
Isac also took part in the under 19 New Zealand championship earlier this year in which he won the gold in the 100m sprint. He set his personal best time of 10.74s in this competition.
Prior to the PMG, he represented Niue to the Oceania Regional Championship where he scooped three medals in track events.
Isac now has set his eyes on dethroning reigning blue ribbon champ Niko Verekauata.
“My only aim now is to win gold in the 100m event and I know for that I have to train really hard. I will try and achieve this goal by next year.”
Isac will compete in the 4x100m and 4x400m relay tomorrow. - RK

Golfers do well on tight course

The Rarotonga Golf Club’s nine hole course can be confusing on a quiet day. But when 58 golfers all tee-off at once from every tee all at the same time, there is the potential for chaos.
However, yesterday’s two rounds of play went relatively smoothly and, apart from an incident at practice last week, there have been no reports of players being hit by flying golf balls.
Tournament organisers were forced to put two rounds under shotgun starts yesterday after the threat of lightning strikes halted proceedings on Wednesday. A shotgun start is when players all tee-off at the same time form every tee on the course.
The Rarotonga course has been cleverly laid out in a very small area of land to provide 2281 metres of nine hole enjoyment made up of four par 4s, three par threes and two par 5s.
The potential for trouble starts at the par 4 first, an outgoing fairway which bisects two incoming par 4s. On a busy day there can be twelve golfers hitting balls to a common catchment.
To add a little more spice there is a short dog leg par 4 that cuts across the other three. Add to the mix the three huge radio transmission aerials which dominate the centre of the course.
French speaking referee Jacques Thillier from New Caledonia says there were few incidents yesterday due to the congestion apart from two players who played wrong balls in the central area. Such an error incurs a penalty of two strokes.
Tournament starter Bruce Graham says the tournament has so far gone smoothly despite the pressure put on the organisers due to the thunderstorm causing a day to be lost on Wednesday.
- Gray Clapham

Tahiti whitewash in va’a sprints

A Tahitian paddler celebrates her teams gold medal performance at yesterdays oe vaka sprint finals.

Tahiti Nui! A Tahitian paddler celebrates her teams gold medal performance at yesterdays oe vaka sprint finals. 09092492

The oe vaka or va’a sprint finals yesterday were a Tahiti whitewash as the red army won all six finals.
But they weren’t the only ones celebrating – the host nation Cook Islands landed two silver medals and one bronze.
The Cook Islands V6 women’s crew were two seconds off Tahiti and the gold medal in the 500m sprint final.
In fact, it was said that the local girls are the first to ever come so close to pipping Tahiti, who finished in 2.20.
The V6 crew again put the squeeze on Tahiti in the V6 1500m race but Tahiti were just too good and comfortably won the race in 9.13.28 with the Cooks in second place in 9.25.66.
New Caledonia were happy to scoop the bronze a second ahead of Fiji.
The Cooks’ final medal came from the men’s V6 1500m sprint final.
Tahiti and New Caledonia blitzed the course with Tahiti taking gold in a time of 7.44 and New Caledonia taking silver in 7.46.
The Cooks were lucky to pick up the bronze in 8.17 as Wallis and Fortuna were hot on their tails coming in two seconds behind the local lads.
The local men nearly picked up a second bronze medal in the V6 men’s 500m finals.
The Cooks and Fiji crossed the finish line in 1.57.46 and after investigating footage from the race, it was declared that Fiji had crossed first by a fraction of a hair to win the bronze medal.
The Cooks V1 paddler Paio Short didn’t have the best race but she only put her hands up to paddle for the Cook Islands after V1 paddler Serena Hunter sustained an injury.
So far, the local girls have picked up one more medal than their single silver medal won at the Samoa South Pacific Games with the local boys matching their one bronze from Samoa.
Today will see the V1 10km women’s race with Paio Short flying the Cooks flag, while Reuben Dearlove will have the weight of the nation on his shoulder as he races in the men’s V1 15km race which is also on today.
Medals won today will be presented to paddlers after Saturday final marathon races.
Full results on page 7 today.
- Matariki Wilson

Qarau wins the octathlon

Fijian octathlete Kolinio Qarau.

Fijian octathlete Kolinio Qarau takes on the high jump bar on his way to a 1.68m win in the octathalon high jump discipline. 09092346

FIJI’S Kolinio Qarau won the Octathlon event that finished off on Wednesday at the BCI Stadium.
The first-timer to the regional meet has been overjoyed with his first taste of victory in the Pacific Mini Games (PMG).
“I was over the moon with the win and I think the support from the family and friends helped me to win this gold medal,” Qarau said. “I want to thank the Almighty and my dad for guiding me all throughout the event.”
The 23-year-old Ra native made a great start on Tuesday (day one of the octathlon competition) by winning the men 100 metres sprint, long jump and 400m sprint open events.
Tahiti’s Yoann Barff, the only rival to Qarau after homeboy Harmon Harmon pulled out due to a hamstring injury he sustained on the track, managed to win two of the eight events.
Barff won the men shot put open and javelin events.
Qarau succeeded in the remaining two events on Wednesday after wining the men 110m hurdles, high jump and 1000m race to claim the gold medal.
He managed to collect a total of 4719 points – way ahead pf Barff who scooped 4138 points.
An octathlon is an athletics sport which consists of eight track and field events - RK

Two down for Niko

IT is two down and three more to go for Fiji sprinter Niko Verekauta.
The newly anointed track king added another title to his scalp after claiming the men’s 200m race at the BCI Stadium yesterday.
Verekauta is eyeing a major haul of five gold medals from this Pacific Mini Games.
The remaining events he will be participating are 200m (today) and the 4x100m and 4x400m on Saturday.
The 23-year-old remains optimistic of making a clean sweep in all his remaining events.
“I’m confident of winning all five gold medals in the PMG.”
The silver medal went to Tahiti’s Jocelyn Muntaner while Fiji’s Osea Dasalusalu settled with bronze.
Verekauta is seeded third for the 200m final today.Compatriots Banuve Tabakaucoro and Tevita Nalovo are seeded ahead of him.
In the women’s 400m race, Fiji made quite a history after clinching all three medals. Track queen Makelesi Bulikiobo won gold with a time of 55.71s.
Paulini Korowaqa scooped the silver medal after clocking 58.02s.
Makitalena Lolokobuka clocked 58.89s to win the bronze medal.
In other events, Erwan Cassier of New Caledonia won gold in men’s hammer throw event with a distance of 56.38m.
Fellow country man Petelo Toto threw a distance of 50.74m to scope the silver medal.
Cedric Oblet of New Caledonia won the gold in men’s 1500m after clocking 4 minutes 11.17s.
In women’s 10,000m race, tiny Betty Babalu lost to New Caledonia’s Josiane Chipeaux to settle for silver medal.
Chipeaux won gold with a time of 41 min 24.10s.
- Rashneel Kumar

Top 6 finish for Tutai

It was mixed emotions for Teaea Parima – Daniel Tutai’s javelin coach – at yesterday’s competition at the Pacific Mini Games.
Tutai threw 57.18m to place sixth in the competition at BCI Stadium and smashed the national record set by Denis Taripo at the same time.
“I’m pleased,” said Parima. “He blew the first throw for 40 metres. But to work his way up to 57 metres from 40 metres – that’s a real positive.
“I was a bit disappointed because I know he can throw over 60 metres. But he’s got time on his side, he turns 17 next month.”
Tutai just squeaked into the top eight after his first three throws and then climbed a couple of notches to sixth.
The Aitutakian said that it was a good feeling to get into the top six.
Fijian Leslie Copeland won the javelin event with a record-breaking 74.98m throw on his last throw. - MM

Fiji dominates athletics track events

THE ABSENCE of fellow Melanesian sprinters has facilitated Fiji’s dominance on tracks at the 2009 Pacific Mini Games.
So far the team has at least won a medal in all track events except for men’s steeplechase and long distance (10,000 metres) race.
Fiji has been dominating the track events in past several regional meets but in this PMG, other countries has so far poised less or relatively no threat to its sprinters.
Papua New Guinea (PNG), the other country which has produced some top regional runners, pulled its athletics team prior to PMG for unknown reasons.
According to a source, PNG’s chances of winning gold were high in athletics events but due to some administrative dilemma the team could not travel to this PMG.
This news had certainly pleased the Fijian athletes who knew PNG could have been their only barrier from winning gold.
Something similar happened to the Vanuatu team when their best sprinter was dropped from the squad at the eleventh hour.
“We dropped him from the squad due to disciplinary
reasons back at home,” Vanuatu athletics coach/manager Ansel Nalau said.
He refused to elaborate.
“But we have brought a good set of runners and hope for a good run during the PMG,” Nalau said.
“The 100m race was pretty much dominated by Fijians may be because of the absence of some top sprinters from other countries but the ones participated were quite competitive.”
“This weather has affected all our athletes because they don’t get the chance to warm up properly but we don’t want to make this an excuse.”
Looks like it will be another Fiji year on tracks and they so far are doing well - just making the most of now! - RK

Last fights

Osolai Akai from the Cooks (at left) gets a punch in against Tahiti Nuis Puaiura Taaroa.

Osolai Akai from the Cooks (at left) gets a punch in against Tahiti Nuis Puaiura Taaroa in their 81kg bout on Wednesday evening. The match went the Tahitians way, 10-5 on points, with Taaroa to face American Samoas Faleauto Manutulila in tomorrow nights final. PHOTO HARVIE ALLISON 09092401

Samoan Afaese Fata Kalepi’s close win over Fijian Solomone Delailomaloma has set up a much anticipated 75kg final with a little-known Kiribati opponent in tomorrow’s boxing finals.
There were no scored punches in the first round between Fata Kalepi and the southpaw Delailomaloma. But the Samoan patiently waited for the opportunities, scoring a point in the second round, and then added another in the third to take out the match 2-0.
He will now meet Andrew Kometa from Kiribati who easily accounted for the Tahitian, Marian Mahanora 11-3. Kometa led 4-0 in the first round and extended that to 6-1 in the next – putting a standing eight-count on the taller Tahitian in the second round.
Gyan Athalae from New Caledonia fought out a close 7-5 win over his Samoan opponent, Uili Auapaau, in one of the 60kg matches. In the other 60kg match, Kautoa Roddy scored a 9-5 victory over Joseph Robson from Tahiti Nui.
There was action aplenty in both matches with a flurry of exchanges between the boxers throughout, however many of the punches did not find the mark.
Roddy from Kiribati will face Athalae in tomorrow’s final.
Joseph Deireragea from Nauru showed his class against Michael Fonoti-Taputoa in the first 69kg fight last night.
Deireragea landed two right hands at the end of the first round to lead the match (2-0) and then exhibited a brilliant display of counter-punching in the second to take a 6-0 lead. He scored a further five points against his taller opponent to win 11-0.
The second 69kg match was short-lived with Albert Temaititahio ripping into the body of Kiribati’s Mikaobo Tooma and dropping him to his knees in the first round.
The referee stopped the contest and the Tahitian will go into tomorrow’s final against Deireragea.
There will be nine bouts in tomorrow’s finals which will start at 7pm at the National Auditorium. - Moana Moeka’a

Lining up for gold

Cook Islands golfer Elmay Viking.

Elmay Viking goes into todays final round with the responsibility of helping her team hold their medal winning position as well as facing the challenge for individual gold. PHOTO GRAY CLAPHAM 09092456

Cook Islands is leading both the men’s and the women’s teams competitions as the Pacific Mini Games golf tournament heads into the final round today.
Stunning individual performances by Kirk Tuaiti and Sonny Karati in both rounds yesterday shot the Cook Islands team to the top of the competition with 629 points. Samoa is second with 637 with New Caledonia back at 650.
A five-under par round of 65 in the afternoon preceded by a morning round of 69 has given Tuaiti a two-shot lead at -5 in the individual men’s tournament.
Team mate Sonny Karati is second on the leaderboard with -3 after posting an equally hot four under 66 yesterday afternoon and a 69 in the morning.
In third place is New Caledonia’s Jean-Max Ho at -1 after a morning 67 followed by a 72 in the afternoon. This sets the scene for a great battle for the gold medal today between the two Cook Islands team mates.
Cook Islands ladies have played solidly if not spectacularly to take a 19 point lead over Tahiti going into final play today.
Maara Kenning’s 73 was one of the best scores of the day while Elmay Viking had her worst round of the tournament with a 77 which was still one of the better rounds posted.
In the individual women’s contest, New Caledonia’s Charlotte Navarro on + 8 three shots did better than Cook Island’s Elmay Viking with +11.
With the next contender Gye Oh of Fiji on +17, the final round battle today between 17-year-old Navarro and 14-year-old Viking should be a great golfing spectacle.
- Gray Clapham

No smoking!

Lawn bowlers taking part on the Pacific Mini Games tournament in Rarotonga have been asked not to smoke during play.
Lawn bowls is one of the last refuges for smoking sportsmen and women in a world that is fast closing most doors to those who still indulge in the habit.
At the start of play in round one of the bowls competition earlier this week, competition manager George Paniani made a plea to competitors to refrain from smoking on the rinks.
He said with television and other media likely to be recording proceedings, it would not be a good message to send to the world if bowlers were portrayed with cigarettes in hand.
World bowls board member Kerry Clark who is attending the games as an advisor said smoking while playing the game has been banned from bowls competition at the world level for several years now.
George Paniani also warned bowlers that lawn bowls could be a likely target for dope tests.
Kerry Clark said while it would be highly unlikey to find a lawn bowler pumped up on steroids or taking some other performance enhancing drug, the possibility of testing was mostly to check people who might be on medication. - GC