Ele Opeloge

Ele Opeloge (born July 11, 1985)[1] is a Samoan weightlifter competing in the women's +75 kg category. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Ele Opeloge

Personal information
Born	July 11, 1985
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	124 kg (273 lb)
Sport
Country	Samoa
Sport	Weightlifting
Event(s)	Women's +75 kg
Medal record Women's Weightlifting Representing  Samoa Olympic Games 2008 Beijing +75 kg Oceania Weightlifting Championships 2007 Apia +75 kg 2008 Auckland +75 kg 2006 Apia +75 kg Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi +75 kg 2014 Glasgow +75 kg Pacific Games 2007 Apia +75 kg 2011 Nouméa +75 kg 2015 Port Moresby +75 kg

Family

Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family. Her brother, Niusila is also a Commonwealth gold medalist, winning it the same day as her. Four other relatives have also competed at Commonwealth level.[2] Her twin sister is Larissa Tara.

Career

2007

At the 2007 World Championships she ranked 11th, with a total of 250 kg.[1]

2008

She represented Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in the over 75kg category. She was also her country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony.[2]

Opeloge finished fourth in her event, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She lifted 269 kg, matching her personal best, while Mariya Grabovetskaya of Kazakhstan lifted 270 kg to finish third.[3] In August 2016, the IWF reported in the IOC reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the silver and bronze medalists - Olha Korobka of Ukraine, and Mariya Grabovetskaya - failed retests of their doping samples. The IWF later reallocated medals accordingly,[4] elevating Opeloge to become the silver medalist and also the first-ever Olympic medalist from Samoa.[5]

Opeloge is a celebrity in Samoa, "where children approach her in the supermarket for autographs".[3]

2010

Opeloge won a gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in over 75 kg class with a Games record of 285 kg.[6][7] It was also Samoa's second gold medal in the history of the Games.[6]

2012

Opeloge took 6th place in the London Olympics.[8] Her build up to the Olympics were disrupted by chicken pox and typhoid.[2]

2014

Opeloge was the Samoan flagbearer for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as being one of the baton carriers as the Queen's baton made its way through Samoa.[2] At the Games she won the silver medal in the +75 kg category.[2]

References

1. "OPELOGE Ele". International Weightlifting Federation. Archived from the original on 2011-05-27.
2. "Glasgow 2014 - Ele Opeloge Profile". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
3. "Tears instead of dreams for Samoan", Reuters, August 16, 2008
4. http://www.iwf.net/results/results-by-events/?event=21 IWF Results by Events. XXIX OLYMPIC GAMES
5. "Samoan weightlifter Ele Opeloge could be about to win her country's first ever Olympic medal". Retrieved 2016-08-27.
6. Ele Opeloge gives Samoa second gold medal The Hindu. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
7. Opeloge siblings have a field day Deccan Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2010
8. "Ele Opeloge Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2015-11-27.

External links

• Athlete Biography at beijing2008 at the Wayback Machine (archived August 10, 2008)