Ele Opeloge
Samoan weightlifter (born 1985)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ele Opeloge (born July 11, 1985)[1] is a Samoan weightlifter. 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.[2]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | July 11, 1985 Apia, Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 124 kg (273 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Weightlifting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Women's +75 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Family
Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family.[2] 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.[3] Her twin sister is Larissa Tara. She is the mother of weightlifter Avatu Opeloge.[4]
Career
2007
At the 2007 World Championships she ranked 11th, with a combined lift of 250 kg.[1]
2008
She represented Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in the over 75kg category. She was also her country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony.[3]
Opeloge finished fourth in her event, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She lifted 269 kg, matching her personal best, while Mariya Grabovetskaya of Kazakhstan lifted 270 kg to finish third.[5] 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, and Mariya Grabovetskaya - had failed retests of their doping samples. The IWF later reallocated medals accordingly,[6] elevating Opeloge to become the silver medalist and also the first-ever Olympic medalist from Samoa.[7]
Opeloge is a celebrity in Samoa, "where children approach her in the supermarket for autographs".[5]
2010
Opeloge won a gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in the +75 kg class with a Games record combined lift of 285 kg.[8][9] It was also Samoa's second gold medal in the history of the Games.[8]
2012
Opeloge took 5th place in the London Olympics.[10] Her build up to the Olympics were disrupted by chicken pox and typhoid.[3]
2014
Opeloge was the Samoan flagbearer for the 2014 Commonwealth Games,[11] as well as being one of the baton carriers as the Queen's baton made its way through Samoa.[3] At the Games she won the silver medal in the +75 kg category.[3]
