Lifters still stranded

By ROBINSON LEKA
PACIFIC and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Dika Toua and fellow champion weightlifter Morea Baru are training in New Caledonia as they continue to make the most of the Covid-19 situation.
The pair remain stranded at Noumea’s Oceania Weightlifting Institute as many Pacific Island countries, including Papua New Guinea, continue to enforce travel restrictions in response to the pandemic.
Toua told The National that the Nauru government had offered to repatriate weightlifters from Noumea earlier this month but they decided to wait for border restrictions to be relaxed.
“I am still stranded in New Caledonia since the lockdown started but we are still training twice a day at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute even though gyms and other public facilities are shut down due to the pandemic,” she said.
“We were aware that the virus was affecting a lot of countries around the globe but we had to wait for the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo Olympic organising committee to make a decision on whether to postpone the Games.
“While awaiting for their decision, all borders had been closed down.
“All of my colleagues from the other Pacific nations were airlifted by Air Nauru on April 3 in the hope of returning to their home countries with the assistance of the Nauru government and their national Olympic committees.
“But they too are still stranded on Nauru waiting for their governments to open their borders to Air Nauru so they can repatriated with all costs covered by Air Nauru, Nauru Olympic Committee and the Nauru government.
“We, on the other hand, decided to stay in New Caledonia although we were given the opportunity to be airlifted with the others.
“But we also assessed the risks and other logistics that can be involved while in Nauru.”
The pair and Fijian weightlifter Eileen Cikamatana are among a few who opted to remain in Noumea.