Greater Noida, Jul 15 (PTI) Samoa’s Opeloge family is sports royalty in the Pacific Island.
After all, Ele Opeloge is the first-ever and only Olympic medallist from Samoa. The weightlifter clinched the silver in the women’s 75kg event 15 years ago at the 2008 Beijing Games.
And now, the island nation’s hopes are pinned on Ele’s 24-year-old brother Don Opeloge to fetch a second Olympic medal.
“Sometimes I feel the pressure (coming from a family that has such a strong legacy),” Don, who is in India for the Commonwealth Championships, told PTI.
“But now I feel comfortable because my elder sister and brother give me the motivation for the competition and also the training.” The Opeloges’ weightlifting journey started when the 2010 Commonwealth Games champion Niusila Opeloge, the eldest brother, took up the sport. Ele followed her brother’s footsteps and so did the other 10 siblings.
Apart from the coveted Olympic medal, the Opeloge clan boasts of six CWG medals, a Junior World Championships gold and several Oceania and Pacific Games titles.
Don certainly has the talent to go the distance having won the Junior World Championships and two CWG medals including a gold at the Birmingham Games last year and four Oceania Championship titles.
He was a strong medal contender at the Tokyo Games but was denied the opportunity to compete as the Samoan government prevented local athletes from leaving the country because of a COVID-19-induced lockdown, which included all the weightlifters.
Samoa ended up sending a contingent of athletes who were based overseas.
“When we prepared for Olympics in Tokyo, there was a big opportunity (for me) to win a medal but maybe next year (in Paris)…. I am going to try my best.” He has set high standards for himself.
“The aim is always to win the gold,” he says.
Don, who competed in the 96kg weight class, has moved up to 102kg as the former doesn’t feature at the Paris Games.
“From 96kg at the CWG last year, moving up I have been a little lazy but I’m looking forward to the new category,” the affable lifter said.
With more of his siblings taking up the sport, Don feels competing at the same tournaments motivates him to do better.
While Don won the gold with a Games record at the Birmingham Games in the 96kg weight class, his younger bother Jack clinched the 102kg silver.
His younger sister 18-year-old Avatu is also coming through the ranks.
“It’s a good experience for me and my brother and one sister, who has just started training (to comepete in the same events.) “It’s good motivation for me, they give me the strength to train and I like passing it on to my younger brother and sister.” The advice from his siblings is simple, “they tell me to put all my heart into the competition, they give me strength to get ready”.
The Samoan weightlifitng team has emerged as the best in the southern hemisphere, beating the likes of Australia and New Zealand.
“It’s a good opportunity to beat the strong countries, it’s an opportunity for us to start moving up (the world ladder),” feels Don.
Source: PTI News
