Iuniarra Sipaia (née Simanu, born 25 June 1993) is a Samoan female weightlifter. She has represented

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 ...

in several international competitions such as

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 ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, Oceania Weightlifting Championships and

Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games The Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (abbreviated as AIMAG) is a pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. It is organised by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and consists of Indoor and martial ...

. As a junior, she participated at the

2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...

in the Girls' +63 event. She participated at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

in the +75 kg event. She won the bronze medal at the

2011 Pacific Games The 2011 Pacific Games (officially known as NC 2011) took place in Nouméa, New Caledonia, from August 27 to September 10, 2011. Nouméa was the 14th host of the Pacific Games. Upon closure of the registration for entries, "some 4,300 athletes" h ...

. Iuniarra won gold medal at the

2013 Pacific Mini Games The 2013 Pacific Mini Games was the ninth edition of these Mini Games. They were held in Mata Utu in Wallis and Futuna from 2 to 12 September 2013. Participating countries and territories There were 22 nations at the 2013 games: * Note: The M ...

in the over 75 kg category and set a new milestone in the sport of Weightlifting in Samoa. She was able to represent

at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

and competed in the women's over 75 kg category. She continued her dominance in the sport as she claimed 3 gold medals in the over 75 kg categories at the

2016 Oceania Weightlifting Championships The 2016 Oceania Weightlifting Championships was held in Suva, Fiji between May 24 and May 28, 2016. Medal summary Results shown below are for the senior competition only. Junior and youth results are cited here and here respectively. Men Wome ...

. She was also the part of the Samoan delegation which made its debut at the

2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games The 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games ( tk, Ýapyk binalarda we söweş sungaty boýunça V Aziýa oýunlary/Япык биналарда ве сөвеш сунгаты боюнча V Азия оюнлары), which is also counted as the 5 ...

and claimed a bronze medal in the women's +90 kg event. At the 2017 Australian Open Weightlifting Championships, she emerged as runners-up to a New Zealand transgender weightlifter,

Laurel Hubbard Laurel Hubbard (born 9 February 1978) is a New Zealand weightlifter. Selected to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics, she was the first openly transgender woman to compete in the Olympic Games. Prior to making her Olympic debut, Hubbard achieved ...

. Laurel Hubbard lifted a weight of 268 kg, which was 19 kg more than that of Iuniarra Sipaia of Samoa and raised controversial issues relating to the approval of Laurel Hubbard to compete at the international competition. After the

she was subsequently suspended for using

Triamcinolone acetonide Triamcinolone acetonide, sold under the brand name Kenalog among others, is a synthetic corticosteroid medication used topically to treat various skin conditions, to relieve the discomfort of mouth sores, and by injection into joints to treat ...

. In April 2018 she cleared herself out and her ban was abolished. However, she had to missed the

2017 Pacific Mini Games The 2017 Pacific Mini Games were held in Port Vila, Vanuatu, in December 2017. It was the tenth edition of the Pacific Mini Games, and the second to be hosted in Vanuatu (after the 1993 games). Host selection Vanuatu was awarded the right to h ...

, where she was a defending champion and couldn't compete at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. At the

2023 World Weightlifting Championships The 2023 World Weightlifting Championships is an upcoming weightlifting competition scheduled to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in September 2023. The event serves as a mandatory event to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Th ...

in September 2023 she qualified for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...

in Paris.

Major results

References

External links

* *
Profile at 2014 CWG

Profile at Australian Weightlifting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sipaia, Iuniarra 1993 births Living people Samoan female weightlifters Weightlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Samoa Weightlifters at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics 21st-century Samoan people