Marshall Islands to host Micro Games in 2022

The next Micronesian Games will be held in the Marshall Islands.

The Micronesian Games Council has yet to official announce the host of the 2022 edition of the quadrennial event, but a post from the official Facebook account of the Office of the President of the Marshall Islands confirmed that the Micro Games is coming to RMI for the first time. The council is expected to make the announcement tonight during the closing ceremonies of the 2018 Micro Games in Yap.

“President Dr. Hilda C. Heine announces that the Marshall Islands will host the next Micronesian Games in 2022 in her recent tweet. In her letter of support, President Heine noted that the Micronesian Games is the ‘celebration of athletes who have trained and conditioned themselves to reach a goal.” In addition she stated that it gives the youth positive alternatives and healthy outlets to express themselves,” stated in the post of the Office of the President, RMI.

The Marshall Islands submitted the bid to host the Games during the Council general assembly last Sunday. The CNMI, according to reports from Yap, also expressed interest in hosting the event for the fourth time, but decided against it in the end, leaving RMI the lone bidder.

Meanwhile, Palau grabb-ed the top spot in the medal standings with one day left in the competition. Palau, which entered yesterday’s games at third place in the rankings, moved to No. 1 after improving its medal tally to 32-16-19 (gold-silver-bronze). One-day leader the Marshall Islands slid to second with its 29-16-6, while perennial overall champion Guam fell to third with its 28-12-12 haul.

Palau climbed up after bagging five more gold medals in table tennis yesterday aside from the two golds it got last Wednesday. Palau then won a silver medal in the Micro All Around and could add more medals today, as it will play against Yap in the bronze medal game in the women’s volleyball and will compete for the gold against Chuuk in the men’s division. Guam and the Marshall Islands will collide in the gold medal match in the women’s volleyball.

In football, Palau is also set to duel Chuuk for the bronze medal, while Yap and Pohnpei will dispute the gold.

The CNMI is done with the competition and will go home this Sunday with nine gold medals, 18 silvers, and 9 bronzes.