Nazario Fiakaifonu
Nazario Fiakaifonu (born 27 March 1988 in Port Vila) is a Vanuatuan judoka who competed in the heavyweight division of Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[1][2]
Fiakaifonu was selected to compete in the men's +100 kg weight division of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.[2] He was listed with height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) and weight 123 kilograms (271 lb).[1][3] He lost to Marius Paškevičius of Lithuania in the first round (of 32).[4]
Fiakaifonu competed in two championship matches prior to his appearance in the 2012 Summer Olympics—in August 2011 at the World Championships in Paris and in November 2011 at the Judo Oceania World Cup in Apia. Although he lost both matches in the first round, his appearances did earn him points on the rankings list of the International Judo Federation.[5]
In 2014, he expected to compete in the over 100 kg weight division of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland,[6] but did not do so.[7]
His sister Amata Fiakaifonu is also a competitive judoka.[6]
References
- "Nazario Fiakaifonu". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- "Nazario Fiakaifonu - Judo". Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- His international IDF ranking of 138th was not high enough to qualify him directly. Only the top 22-ranked were automatically qualified for the first round of 32; ten slots are allotted with geographical considerations to ensure participation of athletes from all continents and to seek representation from more nations; his Olympic appearance was by use of a slot devoted to Oceania (see Judo at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Qualification), per BBC 2011: "London 2012 Olympics qualifying: Judo".
- "Judo - Schedule & Results". Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- "A Judoka Off to Oceania World Cup in Samoa". 8 November 2011.
- Amata won silver in the +70kg cadet women's division of the 2012 Oceania Judo Championships, in the best performance of Vanuatu in international judo competition up to 2014.Keats, Bethany (11 July 2014). "Family matters for Vanuatu's Commonwealth Games team". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- See the complete list of matches at those games at Commonwealth Games Glasgow-Head to Heads (judoinside.com) and note that Fiakaifonu's name does not appear in that list.
External links
- Nazario Fiakaifonu, at Inside Judo
- "Vanautu Pride" interview (from ~0:50 to 2:32), YouTube video
- "Life as an Olympic Athlete - Nazario Fiakaifonu - Vanuatu" (1:30) YouTube video]
- Other Youtube videos