Meamea Thomas (born 11 September 1987 in

Tarawa Tarawa is an atoll and the capital of the Republic of Kiribati,Kiribati
''

"In Memoriam: MEAMEA THOMAS 1987-2013"
, Oceania Sport Information Centre, 24 June 2013 was an

I-Kiribati The Micronesians or Micronesian peoples are various closely related ethnic groups native to Micronesia, a region of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. They are a part of the Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, which has an Urheimat in Taiwan. Ethno ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

. Thomas represented Kiribati in the men's 85 kg event at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. He was, at that time, ranked 63rd in the world."Kiribati's Olympic adventure"
Andrew Fraser, BBC, August 3, 2004 He finished 13th, having lifted 292.5 kg. He was also his country's flagbearer during the Opening Ceremony. He had previously won gold in the same event at the

2003 South Pacific Games The 2003 South Pacific Games were held in Suva, Fiji from 28 June to 12 July 2003. They are also known as the XII South Pacific Games. The Games were the 12th ''South Pacific Games'' to be held since the event's inception and were the 40th annive ...

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

. He did not take part in the 2008 Olympics. In all, he won two gold medals at the

, and three at the

2009 Pacific Mini Games The 2009 Pacific Mini Games was held in the Cook Islands from 21 September to 2 October. It was the 8th edition of the Pacific Mini Games. Torch lighters were the athletes Daniel Tutai and Patricia Taea, the Cook Islands' junior sportsman and ...

. He won silver 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 ...

, and was twice Oceania Champion: in 2004 and 2010. On or around 23 June 2013, he was killed in a crash in his home country, at the age of 25. He saw a bicycle rider about to be hit by a speeding car, and pushed the rider to safety. He was hit instead, and died instantly. The driver of the car was drunk. Paul Coffa, General Secretary of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation, paid tribute to his heroism in sacrificing himself to save a life.

References

External links

* Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic weightlifters for Kiribati 1987 births 2013 deaths Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Kiribati People from the Gilbert Islands I-Kiribati male weightlifters {{Kiribati-weightlifting-bio-stub