The Oceania Paralympic Committee (OPC) announced that the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will mark a historic moment for the Pacific region, as it sends its largest contingent of athletes to the Games, excluding Australia and New Zealand.
A total of 13 athletes, seven women and six men, will represent six Pacific nations in Taekwondo and Athletics. This is the most significant representation of Pacific athletes at a Paralympic Games to date, surpassing previous records.
“The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will see the greatest number of Pacific athletes to ever attend a Paralympic Games,” said Fiona Allan from the OPC.
The Pacific’s presence at the Games has steadily grown, with only four athletes from two nations competing in Tokyo 2020, largely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, eight athletes from four nations attended Rio 2016, and eight from six nations competed in London 2012. The Paris 2024 Games will see athletes from Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Kiribati, and Vanuatu competing. The largest number of athletes Tonga has ever sent were two to the Rio Games.
Among the athletes heading to Paris are Meleane Vasitaiamoni Falemaka of Tonga, competing in the Women’s F38 Discus, and Ongiou Timeon of Kiribati, competing in the Men’s F11 Shot Put. Fiji has a strong showing with three athletes, including Irene Mar in the Women’s K44 -57kg Taekwondo. The Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea also have multiple representatives in both Taekwondo and Athletics.
Seven of the 13 athletes qualified at the Oceania Qualification Tournament for the Paralympics, held in Honiara, Solomon Islands earlier this year. This qualification event was important for the region, particularly for nations like the Solomon Islands, which qualified for Tokyo 2020 but could not participate due to the pandemic.
“Oceania Taekwondo Union is really proud to see Para athletes from our region qualify for the Paris Paralympics. This is the first time in many years that we have so many Para athletes representing the Oceania region,” said Denzil Ray, an official from the Oceania Taekwondo Union. “We are dedicated to growing more Para athletes in our region.”
The Pacific’s strong representation in Paris reflects the growing support and development of Paralympic sports in the region, with hopes for even more significant achievements in future Games.
The Paralympic Games opening ceremony will be on Wednesday 28th of August. Tonga’s delegation departs for Paris next weekend.
