Paris 2024: Pacific Paralympians make history together

The greatest para-athletes from around the world have gathered in Paris for the start of the 2024 Paralympic Games, representing a record 168 National Paralympic Committees, including the Paralympic Refugee Team. Among them will be para-athletes from seven Pacific nations, including a debut appearance from Kiribati.

“This is our first time at the Paralympics. It’s special,” said Kiribati’s Chef de Mission, Fakaofo Kekeang. “We are very proud to travel this long trip from our country to Paris.”

Before the Games commenced, the teams from Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, all represented by the Oceania Paralympic Committee (OPC), gathered for a special Welcome Event in the Paralympic Village. The event was attended by officials including Australia’s Governor General, Her Excellency the Honourable Sam Mostyn AC, the Federal Minister for Sport, Anika Wells, and Paralympics Australia President, Alison Creagh.

The close relationship between the teams was highlighted by Australia’s Chef de Mission Kate McLoughlin.

“The Australian Paralympic movement has always valued the many relationships, connections and the great unity we have with our neighbours across the Oceania region,” she said.

The teams from Oceania gathered at the Paralympic Village for a Welcome Event before the start of competition:

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by AUSParalympics (@ausparalympics)

Pacific women take their place in the Paralympic movement

The 2024 Games sees the largest ever number of Paralympians from the Pacific region, with the 13-strong contingent outdoing the previous record of 11 athletes at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000.

It also sees a  high representation of women in the national teams, both as athletes and as administrators and coaches. Three of the national Chef de Missions and seven of the athletes are women, including an all-female team of three from Fiji, and Discus competitor, Meleane Falemaka, being Tonga’s sole representative.

“Meleane has shown dedication and resilience in her preparation up to this point and we are confident that she will make Tonga proud with her performance,” Maliu Mafi, President of the Tonga National Paralympic Committee (TNPC) told Tongan media. “The TNPC believes that we can change lives in Tonga through para-sport. We are part of a worldwide social change movement, which uses the power of sport to positively influence community perceptions of people with disabilities and to promote a more diverse and inclusive society.”

A winning first impression

Friday evening, Paris-time, saw the Pacific’s Taekwondo competitors in action at the Grand Palais. In the women’s events, Fiji’s Irene Mar and Junita Tonowane from the Solomon Islands represented their home countries, while PNG’s Herea Loi and Solomon Jagiri, also from the Solomon Islands, competed in the men’s events.

Of the first-day competitors, special mention must go to 19-year-old Mar who had a solid 25–3 win against her Ukrainian opponent, Yuliya Lypetska, in the opening round. The win put her through to the quarterfinal of the Women K44 - 57kg category, where she was later outdone by Gamze Tur Gurdal of Turkey.

Across town at the Stade de France, Cosmol Maefolia from the Solomon Islands was competing in the F38 Javelin. Maefolia secured a memorable personal best for the season, with a throw of 25.62m in a competition that was ultimately won by Colombia’s Jose Gregorio Lemos Rivas, the defending gold-medallist, with a world record 63.81m throw.

The following day saw more action at the Grand Palais, with James Gegeu from the Solomon Islands team and PNG’s Manega Tapari competing in the men’s and women’s Taekwondo respectively.

On that occasion it was Tapari who notched up a win, with a victory over Louisette Flora Rene Kimoto Martha from the Central African Republic. Tapari, currently ranked 9th in the world in the K44 +65kg category despite having taken up the sport less than 12 months ago, was subsequently beaten by her Spanish rival, Dalia Santiago Morena.

More milestones for Pacific Para-Athletics

Vanuatu’s Ken Kahu and Ongiou Timeon from Kiribati competed on the Monday of the first full-week of competition, in the Javelin and Shot Put events respectively.

Kahu has been competing in para-sports since 2018 when Vanuatu's legendary para-athletics coach, Deni Kalanga, recognised his potential to excel in Javelin. At his very first international competition in 2019, Kahu qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics with a throw of 46.70m, a result which also secured him 10th place in the global rankings. The COVID pandemic prevented him from travelling to Tokyo, so Paris was Kahu’s Paralympic debut – and he responded in style, throwing a personal best of 52.01m.

Timeon made history as Kiribati’s first-ever competitor at the Paralympic Games, stepping straight into the finals of the Men’s F11 Shot Put on Monday evening, Paris-time.

“I’m so happy. I’m proud to be selected from Kiribati,” Timeon told the ABC before the event, calling out the support he has received over many years from his family, from the Kiribati Athletics Association and from the Paralympic Committees.

Timeon’s focus was on mastering specific skills and techniques in his first-ever Paralympic appearance, with the ultimate goal of earning a podium finish in the 2032 Brisbane Paralympics.

Bringing para-athletics to the world

The second half of the week will see more action at the Stade de France, with para-athletes from Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu competing in the Shot Put and Discus events. Their prowess will be witnessed by an estimated audience of 8 billion, with live coverage of all events being broadcast through a worldwide network of television services, web streams, and social and audio platforms.

Pasifika TV is providing daily coverage of the 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 https://www.youtube.com/paralympics.