Oala wins bronze, grateful for experience

 WEIGHTLIFTER Fred Oala competed in the men’s 69kg division, winning a bronze medal on Monday and said the experience would serve him well at the year’s other big events.

The 18-year-old will return to the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Noumea, New Caledonia, where he has trained for the last nine months.

He has set his sights on the Commonwealth Youth Championships in India and the World Junior Championships in the USA later this year.  

Oala, who has been a 56kg competitor for the last four years, is comfortable at his new weight but said he was up against a strong group of lifters, who had an edge in experience.

“It was really hard because we had competitors from Fiji, Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia, who were more experienced then me but I had to gamble in weights and do my best,” Oala, who represented the country at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games last year, said.

“My previous weight category was 56kg and trimming my bodyweight down from 66kg to 56kg was really tough for me so my coach decided I had to go up in weight to compete in the Pacific Games and it really feels good.”

Oala won an additional silver medal in the Oceania Junior Championships which is being run alongside the Pacific Games competition and leaves tomorrow for Noumea.