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Don Opeloge

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Don Opeloge
Personal information
Born (1999-05-13) 13 May 1999 (age 27)
Sport
CountrySamoa
SportWeightlifting
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing  Samoa
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place2022 Birmingham96 kg
Silver medal – second place2018 Gold Coast85 kg
Pacific Games
Gold medal – first place2019 Apia89 kg
Gold medal – first place2023 Honiara102 kg
Commonwealth Championships
Gold medal – first place2019 Apia89 kg
Silver medal – second place2017 Gold Coast85 kg
Oceania Championships
Gold medal – first place2017 Gold Coast85 kg
Gold medal – first place2018 Le Mont-Dore85 kg
Gold medal – first place2019 Apia89 kg
Gold medal – first place202196 kg
Gold medal – first place2023 Honiara102 kg
Gold medal – first place2024 Auckland102 kg

Don Opeloge (born 13 May 1999)[1] is a Samoan weightlifter. He won the gold medal in the men's 96 kg event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England.[2][3]

Career

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Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family.[4] His uncle Niusila and his aunty Ele both won gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, in New Delhi.[4]

At the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, he finished in 9th place in the men's 85 kg event.[5] He won the silver medal in the men's 85 kg event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia.[6]

In 2019, Opeloge won the gold medal in the men's 89 kg event at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships held in Suva, Fiji.[1][6][7] A month later, he represented Samoa at the 2019 Pacific Games and he won the gold medal in the men's 89 kg event.[7] The 2019 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships were also held at the same time and his total result also gave him the gold medal in this event. He qualified for the 2020 Olympic games, but was unable to attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

In December 2022, he was named by the Samoa Observer as one of its people of the year.[9]

At the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in September 2023, he set a new commonwealth record and qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[10]

In August 2024, Opeloge competed in the men's 102 kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France.[11] He failed three attempts to lift 170 kg in the Snatch and he did not compete in the Clean & Jerk.[11]

Major results

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Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Summer Olympics
2024Paris, France102 kg170170170N/a———N/aDNF—
World Championships
2018Ashgabat, Turkmenistan89 kg142147 147 24180185190 1932722
2019Pattaya, Thailand96 kg151156156311902002051335121
2023Riyadh, Saudi Arabia102 kg1661711751220821522063868
IWF World Cup
2019Tianjin, China96 kg155155155619520220243576
2024Phuket, Thailand102 kg170170170152152152212nd place, silver medalist(s)3916
Oceania Championships
2017Gold Coast, Australia85 kg1401461501st place, gold medalist(s)1731801861st place, gold medalist(s)3321st place, gold medalist(s)
2018Mont-Dore, New Caledonia85 kg1371451451st place, gold medalist(s)1801851851st place, gold medalist(s)3251st place, gold medalist(s)
2019Apia, Samoa89 kg1451511571st place, gold medalist(s)1851851931st place, gold medalist(s)3381st place, gold medalist(s)
2021Various, Oceania96 kg1591591651st place, gold medalist(s)2002112111st place, gold medalist(s)3591st place, gold medalist(s)
2024Auckland, New Zealand102 kg1701751801st place, gold medalist(s)2102152201st place, gold medalist(s)3901st place, gold medalist(s)
Pacific Games
2019Apia, Samoa89 kg1451511571st place, gold medalist(s)1851851931st place, gold medalist(s)3381st place, gold medalist(s)
2023Honiara, Solomon Islands102 kg1651731731st place, gold medalist(s)2052142201st place, gold medalist(s)3791st place, gold medalist(s)

References

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  1. 1 2 "2019 Junior World Weightlifting Championships" (PDF). International Weightlifting Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  2. ↑ "Samoan Opeloge snatches Games gold with monster lifts". RNZ. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  3. ↑ Houston, Michael (2 August 2022). "Opeloge family claim another weightlifting title as Don strikes gold at Birmingham 2022". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. 1 2 "Meet the Opeloges: Samoa's first family of weightlifting". RNZ. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "Weightlifting Results Book" (PDF). 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 "Sport: Samoan weightlifter wins junior world title". Radio New Zealand. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. 1 2 Pavitt, Michael (12 July 2019). "World junior champion delights home crowd with triple Samoa 2019 weightlifting gold". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  8. ↑ Lanuola Tupufia (15 July 2024). "'Our whole country is behind them': Samoa's weightlifters chasing Olympic glory". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  9. ↑ Talaia Mika (31 December 2022). "People of the Year: Reaching for the top in weightlifting". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Talaia Mika (17 September 2023). "Don and Iuniarra qualify for Olympic Games". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Weightlifting Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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