Warriors of Oceania competing and succeeding side by side in Paris

Two images summed up the surge of Pacific talent on display as the track and field competition came into focus for Week Two of the Paris Olympics.

One showed the joyful hug between Papua New Guinea's Leonie Beu and Vanuatu's Chloe David after they had both achieved personal best times in their heat of the women’s 100m event.

The other captured Tonga’s Maleselo Fukofuka, Guam’s Joseph Green and Nauru’s Winzar Kakiouea running side by side during a heat of the men’s 100m event, and visibly pushing themselves to the limit.

After her run, Leonie talked about how proud she was to be representing her country in Paris, while competing against the best in the world.

“It was beautiful running with them, I enjoyed it; that will be a story I can tell people that I have run with them,” she said. “I was just telling myself that I’m not here because of me, I’m here for PNG, the Pacific, and all the islands. It’s not about me but everyone out there.”

Highlights from the end of Week One and the start of Week Two

Athletes from almost every nation represented by the Oceanic National Olympic Committees (ONOC) have been making their presence felt in the Stade de Paris at the start of Week Two, including runners from American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, PNG, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and discus competitor Alex Rose from Samoa.

But even before the first week of the Olympics came to a close, the ‘Warriors of Oceania’ had also made a name for themselves on the rugby field, in sailing events, and at the pool.

• The heats of the 50m Freestyle brought out the best in Pacific swimmers. Among many excellent performances, Kayla Hepler from the Marshall Islands and Noelani Day from Tonga impressed with top-three finishes in their respective heats, while Vanuatu's Loane Russet achieved a personal best time in her swim. Kayla, aged just 19, admits to feeling very nervous in the days leading up to her race. “And then when I was walking out there, hearing the crowd, it really hit me – I’m actually in the Olympics, this is my time to, you know, shine,” she says. “So, I had to really tell myself: just swim your best, swim your fastest. And then when I saw my time at the end, I was very shocked with how fast I went!”

• The men also made their mark on the pool’s sprint event. Phillip Kinono from the Marshall Islands and Jion Hosei of Palau achieved personal bests, while Fiji’s David Young managed both a personal best - and a new national record. “Just because you don’t win doesn't mean you don’t exactly win,” said David, who is already looking ahead to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. “I’m happy that I set a national record here…I’m really happy to represent Fiji; very proud and honoured and could not ask for any other way it happened.”

• Although they weren’t able to match their bronze-medal performance from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the Fijian women gave it their all in the Rugby Seven’s competition in Paris. Running on to the field for the Fijiana was Kolora Lomani, who this year began playing with the ACT Brumbies in the Super Rugby Women. “She is an incredibly hard-working individual,” said Brumbies Head of Women's Rugby & Pathways, James Erwin. “I am proud to see that Kolora is getting the recognition and opportunities that she truly deserves."

• Samoa’s Alex Rose has secured a place in the finals of the men’s Discus, making him the first Pacific athlete to have reached the final of a track and field event since the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne. Alex previously competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where he was honoured to be selected as the flag-bearer for the Samoan team, but this is the first time he has made it through to the final. “It has been my dream for years and years to qualify for this final, and I'm seeing my dreams become a reality," Rose told the Samoa Observer. "It is an absolute honour to represent Samoa on the biggest stage.”

• Manami Iijima represented Guam as the nation’s first-ever Olympic triathlete - a feat not lost on family, friends and fans. “This is groundbreaking – for our sport locally and for the future inspiration of younger athletes," said Mark Cruz, president of the Guam Triathlon Federation. Manami made it through the gruelling Seine swim but was one of a number of competitors to fall foul of bad weather during the cycling, dropping out after a nasty slide on wet cobblestones.

• Pacific women had an extraordinarily good day as they competed in the women’s 100m heats on the first day of track and field events. Papua New Guinea's Leonie Beu and Vanuatu's Chloe David both achieved personal bests, congratulating each other with a hug at the end of their race. So, too, did Sharon Firisua from the Solomon Islands and Temalini Manatoa from Tuvalu, running side by side in their heat. Meanwhile Filomenaleonisa Iakopo from American Samoa ran a new personal best time and also set a new national record.

• Samoa and Fiji proudly represented their countries in the men’s and women’s Dinghy races, with spirited performances from ​​Fiji's Sophia Morgan and Viliame Ratului, and Samoa’s Vaimooia Ripley and Eroni Leilua. Sophia was surrounded by loved ones in Paris, with her mother in attendance as Fiji’s sailing team manager, and her long-time friend, Viliame, out on the water as a fellow competitor. “It’ll be amazing to attend the Games together as we’ve been sailing with each other since I was about 14,” said Sophie.

The next few days will be full of excitement as Pacific athletes step forward to represent their countries in Athletics, Canoeing, Taekwondo and Weightlifting -- with hopes of adding to the region’s medal tally ahead of the closing ceremony on 11 August.

For ongoing updates on the Olympic achievements of the Pacific teams, follow ONOC on Facebook, or keep an eye out for Facebook updates from Paris 2024.