Sanele Mao (born 9 September 1985) is a

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 ...

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 ...

. Mao is from Vaitele and

Falealupo Falealupo is a village in Samoa situated at the west end of Savai'i island from the International Date Line used until 29 December 2011. The village has two main settlements, Falealupo-Uta, situated inland by the main island highway and Falealu ...

. He initially pursued a career in

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

, representing Samoa at a competition in

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

and winning silver. In 2012 he switched to weightlifting. He participated 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 ...

in the 94 kg event. He won the silver medal 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 ...

, lifting a total of 335 kg. Mao won Samoa’s first gold medal 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 ...

. Mao won in the final of the 105 kg men's division during the Weightlifting on day five of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre. In 2019 he competed 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 ...

, winning three gold medals. In 2020 he won the men's division in the Oceania Weightlifting Federation Online Cup.

Major competitions

References

External links

* 1985 births Living people Samoan male weightlifters People from Vaisigano Weightlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Samoa Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Pacific Games gold medalists for Samoa Pacific Games medalists in weightlifting {{Samoa-weightlifting-bio-stub