Ele Opeloge

Ele Opeloge (born July 11, 1985)^[1] is a Samoan weightlifter. She was the first Samoan to win an Olympic medal, winning silver in the women's +75 kg category at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.^[2]

Ele Opeloge

Personal information
Born	(1985-07-11) July 11, 1985 (age 40) Apia, Samoa
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	124 kg (273 lb)
Sport
Country	Samoa
Sport	Weightlifting
Event	Women's +75 kg
Medal record Women's Weightlifting Representing  Samoa Olympic Games 2008 Beijing +75 kg Oceania Weightlifting Championships 2007 Apia +75 kg 2008 Auckland +75 kg 2006 Apia +75 kg Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi +75 kg 2014 Glasgow +75 kg Pacific Games 2007 Apia +75 kg 2011 Nouméa +75 kg 2015 Port Moresby +75 kg

Family

Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family.^[2] Her brother, Niusila is also a Commonwealth gold medalist, winning it the same day as her. Four other relatives have also competed at Commonwealth level.^[3] Her twin sister is Larissa Tara. She is the mother of weightlifter Avatu Opeloge.^[4]

Career

2007

At the 2007 World Championships she ranked 11th, with a combined lift of 250 kg.^[1]

2008

She represented Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, competing in the over 75kg category. She was also her country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony.^[3]

Opeloge finished fourth in her event, narrowly missing out on a bronze medal. She lifted 269 kg, matching her personal best, while Mariya Grabovetskaya of Kazakhstan lifted 270 kg to finish third.^[5] In August 2016, the IWF reported in the IOC reanalysis of the 2008 Beijing Olympics that the silver and bronze medalists - Olha Korobka of Ukraine, and Mariya Grabovetskaya - had failed retests of their doping samples. The IWF later reallocated medals accordingly,^[6] elevating Opeloge to become the silver medalist and also the first-ever Olympic medalist from Samoa.^[7]

Opeloge is a celebrity in Samoa, "where children approach her in the supermarket for autographs".^[5]

2010

Opeloge won a gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India in the +75 kg class with a Games record combined lift of 285 kg.^[8][9] It was also Samoa's second gold medal in the history of the Games.^[8]

2012

Opeloge took 5th place in the London Olympics.^[10] Her build up to the Olympics were disrupted by chicken pox and typhoid.^[3]

2014

Opeloge was the Samoan flagbearer for the 2014 Commonwealth Games,^[11] as well as being one of the baton carriers as the Queen's baton made its way through Samoa.^[3] At the Games she won the silver medal in the +75 kg category.^[3]