Bianca Leilua is a competitive sailor from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

who has represented Samoa at the Pacific Games and

Pacific Mini Games The Pacific Mini Games is a continental multi-sport event contested by countries and territories located in Oceania. The event has been held every four years since the inaugural games in Honiara, Solomon Islands in 1981. It was known as the Sou ...

. In 2015 she was Samoa's first female entrant in the

Youth Sailing World Championships The ISAF Youth Sailing World Championships was first held in Sweden in 1971 and it has been held every year since. It is one of the key events of the federation to help promote top-level youth participation. Editions Equipment Gender Guide ...

Life

Leilua started sailing at the age of 9 in an

Optimist Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled wi ...

, and began competing when she was 12 years old. She is the younger sister of Eroni Leilua. Leilua is from Vaivase-uta in

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

. She was educated at

Lynfield College "Learn to Live" , established = 1958 , principal = Ms Cath Knell , address = White Swan Road,Mt Roskill,Auckland , coordinates = , type = State coed secondary, years 9–13 , roll = () , decile = 6N , MOE = 7 ...

in Auckland, New Zealand. In 2013 she represented Samoa at the

in Wallis and Fortuna, winning a silver medal. In 2015 she received a scholarship from World Sailing's Emerging Nations Programme and competed at the Youth Sailing World Championships. The same year, she competed at the Pacific Games in the Laser Radial event. In a field of 11 boats, Leilua finished fifth. At the

2019 Pacific Games The 2019 Pacific Games was the sixteenth edition of the Pacific Games. The Games were held in Apia, Samoa, returning there for the first time since 2007. It was the third time overall that the Pacific Games were held in Samoa. The event was init ...

she won silver in the individual competition, and (alongside Vaimooia Ripley) gold in the team competition.

References

Living people Sportspeople from Apia Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Samoan female sailors (sport) People educated at Lynfield College Pacific Games gold medalists for Samoa Pacific Games silver medalists for Samoa {{Yachtracing-bio-stub