The Papua New Guinea junior weightlifters returned home in style on Sunday October 8, bagging 10 medals at the 2023 Oceania Youth championship.
The champions arrived with a medal each around their neck showing their waiting friends and families that it was a successful event for the PNG weightlifters.
The team of eight weightlifters had a great campaign in Apia, Samoa winning medals in three respective categories, youth, junior and U23.
Following this successful campaign, Assistance Coach Gavera Morea said, that although it was the first time for Gewa Annie Gavera and Lawrence Rewa, they proved themselves strong and won gold medals each for the team in the Youth category. He said this was the highlight of the trip.
Morea said the team showed so much potential in the code. They are only going to get better with age. He said, their potential is shown in the result of their performances. Morea said the future of PNG Weightlifting looks good with these athletes going well.
Morea said, “The development side of weightlifting looks very bright because we have the young ones coming through. When [the] elite weightlifters like Dika Toua and Morea Baru call it the day, we have the developing side coming up. We have a lot of potential lifters that are coming through the ranks.”