Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Apia, Samoa | July 11, 1985|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 124 kg (273 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Weightlifting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Women's +75 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ele Opeloge (born July 11, 1985) [1] is a Samoan weightlifter. She was the first Samoan to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the women's +75 kg category at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. [2]
Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family. [2] Her brother, Niusila is also a Commonwealth gold medalist, winning it the same day as her. Four other relatives have also competed at Commonwealth level. [3] Her twin sister is Larissa Tara. She is the mother of weightlifter Avatu Opeloge. [4]
At the 2007 World Championships she ranked 11th, with a total of 250 kg. [1]
She represented Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in the over 75kg category. She was also her country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony. [3]
Opeloge finished fourth in her event, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She lifted 269 kg, matching her personal best, while Mariya Grabovetskaya of Kazakhstan lifted 270 kg to finish third. [5] In August 2016, the IWF reported in the IOC reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the silver and bronze medalists - Olha Korobka of Ukraine, and Mariya Grabovetskaya - failed retests of their doping samples. The IWF later reallocated medals accordingly, [6] elevating Opeloge to become the silver medalist and also the first-ever Olympic medalist from Samoa. [7]
Opeloge is a celebrity in Samoa, "where children approach her in the supermarket for autographs". [5]
Opeloge won a gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in over 75 kg class with a Games record of 285 kg. [8] [9] It was also Samoa's second gold medal in the history of the Games. [8]
Opeloge took 5th place in the London Olympics. [10] Her build up to the Olympics were disrupted by chicken pox and typhoid. [3]
Opeloge was the Samoan flagbearer for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, [11] as well as being one of the baton carriers as the Queen's baton made its way through Samoa. [3] At the Games she won the silver medal in the +75 kg category. [3]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | Apia, Samoa | July 11, 1985|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 124 kg (273 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Weightlifting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Women's +75 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Ele Opeloge (born July 11, 1985) [1] is a Samoan weightlifter. She was the first Samoan to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the women's +75 kg category at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. [2]
Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family. [2] Her brother, Niusila is also a Commonwealth gold medalist, winning it the same day as her. Four other relatives have also competed at Commonwealth level. [3] Her twin sister is Larissa Tara. She is the mother of weightlifter Avatu Opeloge. [4]
At the 2007 World Championships she ranked 11th, with a total of 250 kg. [1]
She represented Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in the over 75kg category. She was also her country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony. [3]
Opeloge finished fourth in her event, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She lifted 269 kg, matching her personal best, while Mariya Grabovetskaya of Kazakhstan lifted 270 kg to finish third. [5] In August 2016, the IWF reported in the IOC reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the silver and bronze medalists - Olha Korobka of Ukraine, and Mariya Grabovetskaya - failed retests of their doping samples. The IWF later reallocated medals accordingly, [6] elevating Opeloge to become the silver medalist and also the first-ever Olympic medalist from Samoa. [7]
Opeloge is a celebrity in Samoa, "where children approach her in the supermarket for autographs". [5]
Opeloge won a gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in over 75 kg class with a Games record of 285 kg. [8] [9] It was also Samoa's second gold medal in the history of the Games. [8]
Opeloge took 5th place in the London Olympics. [10] Her build up to the Olympics were disrupted by chicken pox and typhoid. [3]
Opeloge was the Samoan flagbearer for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, [11] as well as being one of the baton carriers as the Queen's baton made its way through Samoa. [3] At the Games she won the silver medal in the +75 kg category. [3]