Ele Opeloge
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | July 11, 1985 Apia,Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 124 kg (273 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Weightlifting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | Women's +75 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ele Opeloge(born July 11, 1985)[1]is aSamoanweightlifter.She was the first Samoan to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the women's +75 kg category at the2008 Beijing Olympic Games.[2]
Family[edit]
Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family.[2]Her brother,Niusilais also a Commonwealth gold medalist, winning it the same day as her. Four other relatives have also competed at Commonwealth level.[3]Her twin sister is Larissa Tara. She is the mother of weightlifterAvatu Opeloge.[4]
Career[edit]
2007[edit]
At the2007 World Championshipsshe ranked 11th, with a total of 250 kg.[1]
2008[edit]
Sherepresented Samoaat the2008 Summer OlympicsinBeijing,competing in theover 75kg category.She was also her country'sflagbearerduring the Games'opening ceremony.[3]
Opeloge finished fourth in her event, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She lifted 269 kg, matching her personal best, whileMariya GrabovetskayaofKazakhstanlifted 270 kg to finish third.[5]In August 2016, the IWF reported in the IOC reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the silver and bronze medalists -Olha KorobkaofUkraine,and Mariya Grabovetskaya - failed retests of their doping samples. TheIWFlater reallocated medals accordingly,[6]elevating Opeloge to become the silver medalist and also the first-ever Olympic medalist from Samoa.[7]
Opeloge is a celebrity in Samoa, "where children approach her in the supermarket for autographs".[5]
2010[edit]
Opeloge won a gold at the2010 Commonwealth GamesinNew Delhi,Indiain over 75 kg class with a Games record of 285 kg.[8][9]It was also Samoa's second gold medal in the history of the Games.[8]
2012[edit]
Opeloge took 5th place in theLondon Olympics.[10]Her build up to the Olympics were disrupted by chicken pox and typhoid.[3]
2014[edit]
Opeloge was the Samoan flagbearer for the2014 Commonwealth Games,[11]as well as being one of the baton carriers as the Queen's baton made its way through Samoa.[3]At the Games she won the silver medal in the +75 kg category.[3]
References[edit]
- ^ab"OPELOGE Ele".International Weightlifting Federation. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-05-27.
- ^ab"Meet the Opeloges: Samoa's first family of weightlifting".RNZ. 20 October 2021.Retrieved27 October2021.
- ^abcde"Glasgow 2014 - Ele Opeloge Profile".g2014results.thecgf.com.Retrieved2015-11-27.
- ^"Samoa's Teenage Lifters Shine at Pacific Mini Games 2022".Samoa Global News. 23 June 2022.Retrieved17 July2022.
- ^ab"Tears instead of dreams for Samoan",Reuters, August 16, 2008
- ^http://www.iwf.net/results/results-by-events/?event=21Archived2012-08-02 at theWayback MachineIWF Results by Events. XXIX OLYMPIC GAMES
- ^"Samoan weightlifter Ele Opeloge could be about to win her country's first ever Olympic medal".25 August 2016.Retrieved2016-08-27.
- ^abEle Opeloge gives Samoa second gold medalThe Hindu. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ^Opeloge siblings have a field dayDeccan Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2010
- ^"Ele Opeloge Bio, Stats, and Results".Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-10-02.Retrieved2015-11-27.
- ^"Pacific athletes 'honoured' to carry national flags at Commonwealth Games opening ceremony".ABC. 24 July 2014.Retrieved26 September2021.
External links[edit]
- Ele OpelogeatOlympics.com
- Ele OpelogeatOlympedia
- Ele Opelogeat theCommonwealth Games Federation(archived)
- Ele Opelogeat theMelbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games(archived)
- Ele Opelogeat theGlasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games(archived)
- Athlete Biography at beijing2008at theWayback Machine(archived August 10, 2008)
Commonwealth Games Champions in Weightlifting– Women's Super Heavyweight | |
|---|---|
- Living people
- 1985 births
- Samoan female weightlifters
- Weightlifters at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Weightlifters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Samoa
- Olympic weightlifters for Samoa
- Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Weightlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Samoa
- Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting
- Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Olympic medalists in weightlifting
- Olympic silver medalists for Samoa
- Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Pacific Games gold medalists for Samoa
- Pacific Games medalists in weightlifting