PORT VILA – VASANOC has confirmed the participation of Boxer, Lionel Boe Warawara and Judoka Joe Mahit with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), International Boxing Association (AIBA) and International Judo Federation (IJF).
Warawara’s outstanding performances at the PNG2015 Games, the 2015 Oceania and World Championships no doubt worked in his favor for IOC and AIBA to award him a Tripartite Invitation Place.
Mahit has qualified on merit under the Oceania Continental Quota and is the second Judoka after Nazario Fiakaifonu did the same for the London 2012 Olympics.
So far, the 4 athletes confirmed for Rio2016 are, Yoshua Shing in Table Tennis, Luigi Teilemb in Rowing, Lionel Warawara in Boxing and Joe Mahit in Judo.
This is the first time that Vanuatu’s athletes to an Olympic Games are made up of those who qualified on merit or through the internationally competitive Tripartite Invitations and not merely as Wild Cards.
Table Tennis is making its third appearance since the 2008 Beijing Games.
Rowing is appearing in its first Olympics.
Boxing is making a comeback to the Olympics after its appearance in our first Games in 1988.
And Rio 2016 is Judo’s second Olympics.
In 2003, VASANOC established the NODS (National Olympic Development Squads) Project as an Elite Sport Development Program mainly to qualify Athletes for the Olympics on merit or through the Tripartite Invitations.
Table Tennis, Rowing and Judo are in this Project and through Warawara’s Gold in the 2015 Oceania Championships, Boxing has been re-included in NODS again.
