Latter-day Saint athletes shine at Pacific mini video games in Palau – Church News

Under the intense Pacific solar and the unity of 23 nations, Latter-day Saint athletes took the stage — and the rostrum — on the XII Pacific Mini Games held earlier this month within the Republic of Palau.

Competing in monitor and area and weightlifting, these athletes not solely represented their nations, but in addition shared how religion, dedication and connection to their Church group helped gas their performances, reported the Church’s Pacific Newsroom.

Strength and spirit on show

Judy Solo’ai, representing New Zealand, earned three bronze medals within the ladies’s 86kg+ weightlifting class on July 5 — medals within the clear and jerk, the general class, and a fourth-place end within the snatch. The Games marked her worldwide debut and her first time competing at this degree.

“It took a lot of hard work and consistency to get here,” she mentioned. “My experience at the Games was very positive, and it has ignited a spark for me to want to continue with my sporting career in weightlifting.”

Solo’ai, a returned missionary and graduate of Brigham Young University–Hawaii, mentioned she felt blessed to satisfy different Church members from throughout the Pacific and draw energy from their shared experiences.

“I have been approached by women and told I was an inspiration of female strength and ambition,” she mentioned. “I hope my example as a Pacific female athlete will inspire more women to follow their goals and dreams.”

Tu’i-Alofa Patolo, additionally from New Zealand and a fellow member of the Church, received bronze within the snatch of the identical weight class and positioned fourth in each the clear and jerk and the general competitors.

A second likelihood on the world stage

Monica Saili-Hiatika of New Zealand positioned fifth total within the ladies’s 77kg weightlifting competitors on July 4. Her journey again to worldwide competitors was deeply private. A former swimmer who stopped competing in 2015 as a consequence of well being points, Saili-Hiatika made a return — this time in a totally completely different sport.

“It meant the world to me knowing that I am back on the world stage,” she mentioned. “I competed internationally in swimming when I was a teenager … Now, here I am 10 years later competing in a new sport, on a stage I never thought I would see again.”

She started weightlifting in late 2024, at 27 years outdated, she was unsure whether or not her age would restrict her choices. But her expertise in Palau reshaped her outlook.

“My younger self always thought that the older you get, the less options you have for competitive sport. Boy, was I wrong,” she mentioned. “Seeing the array of people and ages at the Games, it motivated me to know that, so I long as I stay disciplined, I have many more years to show that I have a lot more in me.”

Medals, missions and motivation

Faith performed a big position for these athletes. For some, together with Solo’ai, Saili-Hiatika and Errol Qaqa of Fiji, missionary service helped form their sense of self-discipline and identification.

Qaqa received gold within the males’s 110-meter hurdles on July 7, ending with a time of 14.59 seconds. “We have to lead by example, so I’m glad I was able to go through with gold,” he mentioned in an interview with Team Fiji. “I had done the hard work back at home, so I knew I could bring it, but at the end of the day, it was all just to focus and finish the race healthy and strong.”

In 2012, Qaqa adopted the recommendation of his mom to “try out for the Lord’s team” and serve a mission. It wasn’t till after his mission that he was in a position to make the Fiji nationwide workforce.

Maika Pedro of Samoa received silver in the identical occasion, his first-ever medal. And within the ladies’s 69kg weightlifting class, Sienna Fesolai of New Zealand took house silver total, with a silver within the lean and jerk and bronze within the snatch.

Fijian athlete Waisiki Komainaiqoro positioned fourth within the males’s triple bounce and fifth within the lengthy bounce, rounding out a robust exhibiting from Latter-day Saint athletes in each monitor and area and weightlifting.

“Let these Games be a shining example of what we can achieve when we stand together,” mentioned Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. on the opening ceremony.

For these Latter-day Saint athletes, the Games, in some ways, fulfilled that objective — demonstrating how unity and religion can elevate each sport and spirit.