Ele Opeloge (born July 11, 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 and Apolima); ...

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 lif ...

. She was the first Samoan to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the women's +75 kg category at the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

Family

Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family. Her brother, Niusila is also a Commonwealth gold medalist, winning it the same day as her. Four other relatives have also competed at Commonwealth level. Her twin sister is Larissa Tara. She is the mother of weightlifter Avatu Opeloge.

Career

2007

At the 2007 World Championships she ranked 11th, with a total of 250 kg.

2008

She represented Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, competing in the over 75kg category. She was also her country's

flagbearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

during the Games' opening ceremony. Opeloge finished fourth in her event, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She lifted 269 kg, matching her personal best, while

Mariya Grabovetskaya Mariya Grabovetskaya (born 10 April 1987) is a female weightlifter from Kokshetau, Kazakhstan. Career She won the silver medal at the 2007 Junior World Championships, with a total of 277 kg. At the 2008 Summer Olympics Th ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

lifted 270 kg to finish third."Tears instead of dreams for Samoan"
Reuters, August 16, 2008 In August 2016, the IWF reported in the IOC reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the silver and bronze medalists - Olha Korobka of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, and Mariya Grabovetskaya - failed retests of their doping samples. The IWF later reallocated medals accordingly,http://www.iwf.net/results/results-by-events/?event=21 IWF Results by Events. XXIX OLYMPIC GAMES elevating Opeloge to become the silver medalist and also the first-ever Olympic medalist from Samoa. Opeloge is a celebrity in Samoa, "where children approach her in the supermarket for autographs".

2010

Opeloge won a gold 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, ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in over 75 kg class with a Games record of 285 kg.Ele Opeloge gives Samoa second gold medal
The Hindu. Retrieved 10 October 2010. It was also Samoa's second gold medal in the history of the Games.

2012

Opeloge took 5th place in the London Olympics. Her build up to the Olympics were disrupted by chicken pox and typhoid.

2014

Opeloge was the Samoan flagbearer for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, as well as being one of the baton carriers as the Queen's baton made its way through Samoa. At the Games she won the silver medal in the +75 kg category.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Opeloge, Ele Living people 1985 births Samoan female weightlifters Weightlifters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Samoa Olympic weightlifters of Samoa Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Samoa Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in weightlifting Olympic silver medalists for Samoa