The Solomon Islands will host the 17th Pacific Games Sol2023 from November 19–December 2. Athletes to watch out for at the Games are selected by Olympics.com.
The 2023 Pacific Games, which will take place in the Solomon Islands from November 19 to December 2, 2023, will feature some of the best athletes from the South and West Pacific region.
Along with invited teams from Australia and New Zealand, athletes from numerous nations and territories in the region will compete in the Games. Quotas for boxing and archery will also be acquired for Paris 2024.
Unsurprisingly, the Fijians are strong favorites in both the rugby sevens for men and women.
Since neither Australia nor New Zealand are participating in those competitions, Fiji is predicted to win both of them handily.
The depth of Fijian rugby union is demonstrated by the fact that none of the men’s team members competing this year were on the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold-winning squad.
But with their experience, Laisana Likuceva and Lavenia Tinai, two members of Fiji’s Olympic bronze medal-winning women’s team, will undoubtedly lead from the front with the Fijian sevens in the Solomon Islands.
In the mixed-team archery competition, Ryan Tyack hopes to do well enough to earn a qualification quota for Australia.
The 32-year-old is one of the few Olympic medallists competing in the Solomon Islands. He won bronze in Rio 2016 while competing for Australia’s men’s team.
Depending on the outcome of the ranking round, Tyack and Sarah Haywood or Laura Paeglis would need to win the mixed-team event in order for Australia to receive an Olympic quota for Paris 2024.
One of the hosts’ top medal favorites is Jenly Tegu Wini. She placed third and took home the bronze in the weightlifting competition at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, making her the only person from her nation to have ever stood on a significant international podium.
As the Pacific Games weightlifting awards medals for the snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift separately, she will compete in the women’s 55kg event and has a chance to win three.
With her three gold medals from 2015, Wini already has nine medals from the Pacific Games. Could she get more for her collection?
In the women’s amateur boxing scene, Caitlin Parker aims to add to her impressive record.
Given that there are only six women competing in her 75 kg weight class at the Pacific Games, the 27-year-old middleweight fighter is expected to meet her Olympic quota for Paris 2024. She won a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships earlier in March.
It would take a major upset for the Australian, a two-time medallist at the Commonwealth Games, to lose out.
David Liti of New Zealand is competing in the men’s +109kg division in Honiara with the goal of adding to his two bronzes from the 2015 Pacific Games and his silver from 2019.
The current Commonwealth record holder in the category is Liti, the 2021 Commonwealth champion, and two-time Commonwealth Games medallist; however, she may finally get the opportunity to finish on the top step at the Pacific Games.
The largest thing standing in his way? Sanele Mao of Samoa is competing in just his second competition at the heavier class, going up from 109 kg, where he would have been the defending champion, to the +109 kg weight.
Here is a selected list of broadcasters for the Sol2023 Games:
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