Oceania Weightlifting Institute

Paul Coffa established the regional centre in Fiji in 2002 before moving it to Samoa and eventually to New Caledonia, where he has trained Pacific, Oceania and Commonwealth champions for the past 12 years.

The veteran coach was working with 14 lifters in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics before the coronavirus brought everything to a sudden halt.

"In January and February of this year it all started and by April every country wanted their athletes and their citizens back home and that was the end of the institute, we had to close it," he said.

PNG’s pocket dynamo is undergoing a training camp to fine-tune her preparations for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

42 Vanuatu Pacific Mini Games gold medallists are in a special training camp at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Mont Dore, New Caledonia, in preparation for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast from the 4th to 16th April. 

The 20 institute lifters plus the top lifters of Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand will be training together for a 10-day period.

To compete at next year’s Commonwealth Games in weightlifting, an athlete must now qualify as no longer can countries send a team to compete.

The six PNG lifters are currently training at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute, namely Thelma Toua, Dika Toua, Morea Baru, Toua Udia, Steven Kari and Lorraine Harry.

Oceania coach Paul Coffa confirmed that only fifteen lifters in the Oceania region, one per country, per category will be eligible to compete in the Gold Coast Games.

In the Oceania region there are only two events this year, where an athlete can qualify.

PNG Weightlifting Federation president Sir John Dawanicura says they’ll be sending Toua Udia and sisters Thelma and Dika Toua back to join the two male athletes Morea Baru and Fred Oala.  

The five athletes will train there leading up to the Oceania Championships and Olympic Qualifiers from May 23-28 in Fiji.

Baru is also preparing to attend the Australian Open International at Brisbane in March to qualify on merit for the 2016 Rio Olympics in August.