PAPUA NEW GUINEA weightlifter Morea Baru reigned supreme in the men 62 kilogram senior category beating Vaipava Nevo Ioane in the 2016 Oceania Weightlifting Championship at Vodafone Arena in Suva yesterday.
Baru had a lift of 283 kg with a snatch of 120kg and clean and jerk of 163kg.
He said he was expecting to win a gold for his country.
“This gold medal is for the people of Papua New Guinea and I feel so good making my country proud,” he said after the win.
“I had been working hard to win the gold. I think my total lift is not good as I had aimed high for the competition.”
Baru said he was hoping for the best for his country. Fiji’s Isikeli Dau finished third.
In the youth and junior categories, Larko Doguape of Nauru finished first while Kiribati’s Takirua Betero came second repectively.
In the women 48kg senior, Australia’s Erika Yamasaki finished first while Thelma Toua of PNG came second while Fiji’s Malani Seruwaia settled for third.
Nauru’s Bernada Uepa and Solomon Island’s Jaylyn Mala finished first and second in the junior category while Nauru’s Siyisha Cain came first in the youth category while Fiji’s Filomena Simmons finished second.
