The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games were held at

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...

from 11 to 22 August 1997. It was the fifth edition of the South Pacific Mini Games. It was much larger than previous editions, with an almost doubling of the number of medals awarded compared to the 1993 South Pacific Mini Games. The impressive performances by Nauru in weightlifting continued in Pago Pago, with the tiny nation finishing on top of the unofficial medal table after winning 33 gold. The 1997 Games were criticized for poor preparation by local and international journalists, with Matai Akauo in the ''

Pacific Islands Monthly ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', commonly referred to as "PIM", was a magazine founded in 1930 in Sydney by New Zealand born journalist R.W. Robson. Background ''Pacific Islands Monthly'' was started in Sydney in 1930. The first issue ran in August ...

'' describing them as "the most disoganised ever in the history of the Pacific Islands Council". Without other means transportation, some athletes had to walk to their venues. However, the games went ahead and the events were able to be completed.

Participating countries

Nineteen Pacific nations participated in the Games:

Note: A number in parentheses indicate the size of a country's team.

Sports

The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games hosted eleven sports:

Note: A number in parentheses indicates how many medal events were contested in that sport.

Final medal table

Nauru topped the medal table due to gold medals won in weightlifting. Fiji won the most overall medals:

Notes

The official site provided web pages for each country with the number of athletes in each team: : Basketball was included in the 1997 Mini Games in lieu of the FIBA Oceania Tournament. Golf: Adi Sai won bronze as a member of the Fijian women's team at the 1979, 1983 and 1987 SPG, and at the 1989, 1993, and 1997 SPMG. Netballers walked to their training venue. Sailing: Dean Hudson was a bronze medalist for American Samoa sailing Hobie 16's at the 1997 South Pacific Mini Games. International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) coach Sue Gozansky coached the Tongan women's and men's teams in preparation for the 1997 Mini Games. The large number of medals awarded for weightlifting (three per weight division) allowed Nauru to top the gold medal count.

References

Sources

External links

* {{Pacific Games, state=expanded Pacific Games by year Sports in American Samoa

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games wer ...

P 1997 in American Samoan sports International sports competitions hosted by American Samoa Pacific Mini Games