Samoa’s junior weightlifter Seine Stowers has claimed her first gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, adding to the country’s tally in Glasgow.
The 18-year-old was among 10 lifters who competed in the women’s 77kg division. She snatched 107kg, setting a new Games record, and lifted 130kg in the clean and jerk to set a new total of 237kg, another new Games record for the total lift.
Her gold medal performance now adds to Team Samoa’s medal tally following John Tafi’s silver medal, also in weightlifting, bringing them up to 13th place out of 24 countries.
In the women’s 86kg division, Australia’s Eileen Cikamatana defended her gold medal title and set a new Games record of 248kg (108kg snatch, 140kg clean and jerk).
Samoa’s Sefulu Seuao and Vanuatu’s Ajah Pritchard Lolo finished 6th and 7th respectively in the same category out of a total of 10 lifters.
Boxing
Only two Pacific boxers have advanced into the semi-finals, which get under way on Friday (local time), with a medal already secured for their countries.
Fiji’s Jasmine Daunakamakama defeated her Sri Lankan opponent Keshani Hansika in the women’s 57kg quarterfinals by a split decision to advance.
Tuvalu is about to create history with its first medal as Tarona Taafaki takes on India’s Lovlina Borgohain in the women’s 75kg semi-finals at the SEC on Friday.
Samoa’s boxers Michael Seko (men’s 90kg) and Marion Ah Tong (men’s 70kg) went down fighting against their opponents, falling short in the quarterfinals.
Swimming
Cook Islands swimmer Jacob Story, 18, made history for the Cook Islands when he reached the men’s 200m breaststroke finals and finished 8th with a time of 2:14.48.
Story is the first Cook Islands swimmer to compete in a Commonwealth Games final.
In the mixed 4x100m relay, Samoa finished ahead of Fiji and PNG.
PNG’s mixed 4x100m medley relay team of Joanna Chen, Thomas Chen, Jhnayali Tokome-Garap and Josh Tarere capped off the session with an outstanding swim, finishing more than 23 seconds faster than PNG’s World Championships result from 12 months ago.
Basketball
Despite their loss against Uganda, the Tongan women’s 3×3 basketball team have made history as the first Pacific Island team to reach the quarterfinals, capping off a good standing at the Commonwealth Games as debutants.
Finals were played today (local time) with Australia (women) defeating Uganda to clinch gold while New Zealand settled for bronze against Jamaica.
Netball
Tonga suffered a massive 94-32 loss against England at the Hydro despite a day’s rest. The Tala will be playing their final match against Malawi tomorrow at 9am local time.
Lawn Bowls
Norfolk Island’s Shae Wilson has started her campaign with two straight wins in the women’s singles sectional play, with three more matches ahead in the days to come. Norfolk’s men’s pairs have also recorded one win and a loss since the competition commenced yesterday.
Athletics
Zoe Hobbs set an Oceania record with her sprint.(AP: Eranga Jayawardena)
Māori sprinter Zoe Hobbs claimed a gold medal for New Zealand in an incredible performance in the women’s 100m final.
Hobbs (Ngāruahine, Ngāti Ruanui) made two historic firsts: the first Polynesian and New Zealand woman ever to win Commonwealth Games gold in the modern 100m, and the first woman in Oceania history to break the 11-second barrier. She clocked 10.93, setting a new Oceania record for this event.
Nauru’s Jonathan Detageouwa has reached the men’s shot put final, qualifying with a 16.84m throw. He is also joined by Tonga’s Penisimani Taeiloa, who qualified with a 14.94m throw.
In track events, PNG’s Jiuteis Robinson broke a 21-year national record, clocking 4:19.14 in the men’s one mile event. The previous record was held by former PNG’s distance runner Sapolai Yao (4:27.29 secs) in 2005. He finished 12th in his heat.
Team Vanuatu also continued its athletics campaign, with Chloe David delivering a new personal best of 25.99 seconds in the women’s 200m, while Rizon Rara clocked a season’s best of 22.49 seconds in the men’s 200m.
Judo
With less than two days left of the Commonwealth Games, judo is expected to feature several Pacific athletes representing Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
This article was originally published on
ABC Pacific
and was authored by Jamie Haro in Glasgow. It is republished by Samoa Newshub under agreement.
