Pacific power on display in the Stade de France

In the closing stages of the 2024 Paralympics, the Stade de France, France’s largest sports stadium, has become the Pacific’s homebase, with athletes from Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu competing in the Shot Put and Discus events. 

Community support builds for Enock

First in the field on Thursday morning, Paris-time, was Vanuatu’s Elie Enock who competed in the finals of the Women’s F57 Shot Put having passed through the qualifying rounds the day before. Enock’s previous international experience includes her debut at the 2019 World Championships in Dubai, a sixth-place finish in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK, and a gold-medal win for Vanuatu at the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, a result which guaranteed her entry to the Paris Games.

“I won a gold medal. I'm so happy, I'm so proud representing Vanuatu," she told the ABC after her Pacific Games win. "I'm so proud because it's the first time they played the national anthem in the stadium ... That feeling was just so great."

Speaking to the Oceania Paralympic Committee in Paris (OPC), Enock said how proud she was to be competing alongside world champions in one of the biggest stadiums in the world. She leaves Paris having achieved a season-best throw in her event, cheered on by friends and family in Vanuatu and around the world, and by the community of Stawell, the small town in rural Australia that has been her home since 2023 when she started working for local business, Thomas Foods International.

“They have really helped me with my training," she said of her employers and workmates. "They even built a small field for me at the back (of the factory) so I could practise and do my training.”

_{Vanuatu's Elie Enock speaks to the Oceania Paralympic Committee.}

Fiji fields a dynamic duo

Also on Thursday morning, Selina Seau and Naibili Vatunisolo, friends and rivals from the Fijian team, competed side by side in the final of the Women’s F64 Shot Put.

Seau is relatively new to the discipline, having competed in two Oceania Para-Badminton Championships before switching to Shot Put. Her first international appearance in Para-Athletics was at the 2023 Pacific Games, where she finished an impressive fifth.

“Sports has really brought out the best in me,” she says. “I love being fit and healthy, but did not realise that I was able to represent Fiji in sports.”

Vatunisolo has a much longer track record in the sport, earning her first international gold medal for Shot Put at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa. She also competes in other Para-Athletics events, having won a bronze for Discus at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and another for Javelin at the 2023 Pacific Games.

“I am always passionate about representing my country and [doing] well,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to advocate for women with disability, through sports.”

Both Seau and Vatunisolo were well placed coming into the finals, having both achieved personal bests in the season leading up to their Paralympics performances. By the time the final was over, Seau had set a new personal best and Vatunisolo had clinched an all-new Oceanic record, with a throw of 9.19m.

Falemaka smashes the barriers

Meleane Vasitaiamoni Falemaka, the sole representative from Tonga, will also have the distinction of being the final Pacific Paralympian to make an appearance at the Paris Games.

Although she will be competing in the Discus event at the Paralympics, she is also active in Para-Table Tennis, representing Tonga at the 2023 Pacific Games, and helping to introduce table tennis to women, girls and people with disabilities across the Kingdom of Tonga, through the Australian Government-supported Smash Down Barriers program.

“Being a para-athlete gives me confidence that I can do almost anything,” she told Tongan media before arriving in Paris. “I encourage others who are disabled to join activities […] like para sports because it can give them, as I feel now, a new life.”

Falemaka’s friends and colleagues from across both Tonga and Australia will be wishing her well as she competes in the final of the Women’s F38 Discus event.

_{Meleane Falemaka of Tonga competed in the Discus and carried her country's flag in the Opening Ceremony (Image courtesy Australian Olympic Committee, Pacific Olympic and Paralympic Partnership Project).}

Pasifika TV is providing daily coverage of the Paralympic Games, through local Pacific broadcasters. For ongoing updates on the achievements of the Pacific Paralympians, follow the Oceania Paralympic Committee (OPC) on Facebook. And catch up on all the highlights of the Games on the https://www.youtube.com/paralympics.