Don Opeloge

Samoan weightlifter (born 1999)

Don Opeloge
Personal information
Born (1999-05-13) 13 May 1999 (age 25)
Sport
CountrySamoa
SportWeightlifting
Medal record
Men's weightlifting
Representing  Samoa
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 96 kg
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast 85 kg
Pacific Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Apia 89 kg
Gold medal – first place 2023 Honiara 102 kg
Commonwealth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Apia 89 kg
Silver medal – second place 2017 Gold Coast 85 kg
Oceania Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gold Coast 85 kg
Gold medal – first place 2018 Le Mont-Dore 85 kg
Gold medal – first place 2019 Apia 89 kg
Gold medal – first place 2021 96 kg
Gold medal – first place 2023 Honiara 102 kg
Gold medal – first place 2024 Auckland 102 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

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

Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Summer Olympics
2024 Paris, France 102 kg 170 170 170 — — — — — DNF —
World Championships
2018 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 89 kg 142 147 147 24 180 185 190 19 327 22
2019 Pattaya, Thailand 96 kg 151 156 156 31 190 200 205 13 351 21
2023 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 102 kg 166 171 175 12 208 215 220 6 386 8
IWF World Cup
2019 Tianjin, China 96 kg 155 155 155 6 195 202 202 4 357 6
2024 Phuket, Thailand 102 kg 170 170 170 15 215 215 221 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 391 6
Oceania Championships
2017 Gold Coast, Australia 85 kg 140 146 150 1st place, gold medalist(s) 173 180 186 1st place, gold medalist(s) 332 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2018 Mont-Dore, New Caledonia 85 kg 137 145 145 1st place, gold medalist(s) 180 185 185 1st place, gold medalist(s) 325 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2019 Apia, Samoa 89 kg 145 151 157 1st place, gold medalist(s) 185 185 193 1st place, gold medalist(s) 338 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2021 Various, Oceania 96 kg 159 159 165 1st place, gold medalist(s) 200 211 211 1st place, gold medalist(s) 359 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2024 Auckland, New Zealand 102 kg 170 175 180 1st place, gold medalist(s) 210 215 220 1st place, gold medalist(s) 390 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Pacific Games
2019 Apia, Samoa 89 kg 145 151 157 1st place, gold medalist(s) 185 185 193 1st place, gold medalist(s) 338 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2023 Honiara, Solomon Islands 102 kg 165 173 173 1st place, gold medalist(s) 205 214 220 1st place, gold medalist(s) 379 1st place, gold medalist(s)

References

  1. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "Sport: Samoan weightlifter wins junior world title". Radio New Zealand. 6 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "Weightlifting Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.