Winzar Jedidiah Shadrack Kakiouea (born 30 April 2001) is a

Nauru Nauru, officially the Republic of Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country and microstate in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies within the Micronesia subregion of Oceania, with its nearest neighbour being Banaba (part of ...

an sprinter. He qualified for the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

and was the only Nauruan selected.

Biography

Kakiouea was born on 30 April 2001 in

. He is of the Iruwa tribe. Nauru, with a population of around 10,000, is the world's third-smallest country and does not have a single racetrack, only what Kakiouea called a "dirt oval". He grew up in the country and won a national

powerlifting Powerlifting is a competitive strength athletics, strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: Squat (exercise), squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athle ...

competition, also being one of Nauru's top

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

players, although he told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' his accomplishments were "not so impressive. Nauru is very small." Outside of sport, he works as a telecom cable repairman. Kakiouea competed at the 2018 Melanesian Championships in Athletics, placing fifth in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

, and won a silver medal at the 2018 Micronesian Championships in the

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

. He also participated in the 100 metres at the 2019 Oceania Athletics Championships, placing fourth. He holds the national record in the event and began training regularly in 2021; ''The New York Times'' noted that: Kakiouea was selected to compete in the 100m at the

2023 World Athletics Championships The 2023 World Athletics Championships (), the nineteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships, were held from 19 to 27 August 2023 at the National Athletics Centre (Budapest), National Athletics Centre, in Budapest, Hungary. The tourna ...

, where he was the sole Nauruan participating and served as the nation's flag bearer. Later that year, he competed at the

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

in three events, winning a bronze medal in the 100m. In March 2024, he competed in the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

; he trained in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

to prepare for the competition, purchasing his only pair of running shoes, pink

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

cleats, for 240

Australian dollars The Australian dollar (currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, code: AUD; also abbreviated A$ or sometimes AU$ to distinguish it from other dollar, dollar-denominated currencies; and also referred to as the dollar or Aussie dollar) is the official ...

. In June 2024, Kakiouea participated at the 2024 Micronesian Games and won four medals—three gold and one bronze. There, he achieved his personal best in the 100m while winning gold, with a time of 10.82 seconds. The following month, he received a universality selection to compete for Nauru at the

, being the only Nauruan chosen. At the time, he had a world ranking of 3,701. As the only Nauruan at the games, he served as the nation's flag bearer at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

, joined by his coach and two team officials. He finished sixth in his heat of the preliminary round in the men's 100 metres with a time of 11.15s and did not advance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakiouea, Winzar 2001 births 21st-century Nauruan people Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Iruwa people Micronesian Games bronze medalists for Nauru Micronesian Games gold medalists for Nauru Micronesian Games medalists in athletics Nauruan male sprinters Olympic athletes for Nauru