Over 100 confirmed for next month’s Oceania Cup

Over 100 athletes will take part in the Oceania Cup, representing Micronesia, Polynesia, Melanesia, the Northern Marianas, and Australia. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

With less than a month to go before the Oceania Cup, Oceania Athletics and the local organizing committee are pleased to announce the teams heading to Oleai Stadium on Saipan in the Northern Marianas.

The Oceania Cup has been brought back into the calendar in Oceania to align with the Oceania and World Athletics strategic plan to create inspiring competitions. The teams-based format is aimed to improve the performance standards and support the member federations opportunity for qualification opportunities.

This will be the fourth edition after previously being hosted by Vanuatu, Samoa, and Australia. The Oleai Sports Complex on Saipan was the venue for the 2022 Pacific Mini Games and is currently the best facility in the Pacific. The local organizing committee and athletics federation demonstrated an outstanding record in hosting major international competitions with the Mini Games.

Over 100 athletes will take part in the Oceania Cup, representing six teams from across the Pacific. Oceania Athletics has selected teams representing each region of the Pacific—Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia, with the Northern Marianas and Australia the only two federations having their own team. 

Robin Sapong, president Oceania Athletics and general secretary Northern Marianas Athletics, had the following to say about the Oceania Cup on Saipan. 

“First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt hafa adai and tirow to the people of Saipan and to those who will be traveling from far and wide for the Oceania Cup. The Oceania Cup being hosted on Saipan, is a fantastic legacy of the 2022 Pacific Mini Games. To be able to build on what took place in 2022 and put toward another international competition in 2023 shows the capabilities of the local organising committee.” 

The competition itself will be outstanding, with 12 gold medalist from the 2022 Mini Games coming back to Saipan. The Oceania Cup also provides an opportunity to qualify for Budapest World Championships and Paris Olympics, with the same number of ranking points as the 2023 Pacific Games. 

The Micronesian Team will be headlined by Olympians Regine Tugade-Watson and Scott Fiti. The sprinters are both multiple representatives at World and Oceania Level multiple medallists at the Micronesian Games in 2018. 

The Melanesian Team will see a changing of the guard in the sprint ranks, with Leroy Kamau and Leonie Beu, of PNG, with some fast times whilst in college in the USA securing their place on the Melanesian Team. 

The Polynesian Team sees area champion in the shot put, Atamaama Tuutafaiva leading the team. She has recently moved to Auckland to be coached by Oceania’s greatest athlete, Dame Valerie Adams, and will be looking for a strong showing in Saipan, to help to improve her world ranking in the hopes of qualifying for the Budapest World Championships. World Championships representative for French Polynesia Herieti Bernardino will be in the women’s sprints, while Olympian from Tuvalu Karalo Maibuca will be in the men’s sprints. 

The Australian team will see an emerging group of athletes make the journey to Saipan. A total of 16 athletes will be representing their islands for the first time at Oleai track & field. 

The home team will be looking for the support they received in 2022 at the Pacific Mini Games, with the team led by multiple World Championships representative Zariane Sapong. The Micronesian Games 200m champion from 2018 will go in the sprints, whilst Pacific Mini Games medallist Orrin Pharmin and Dennis Borja lead a strong male contingent for the home side.

Some member federations have taken the opportunity to send extra athletes to Saipan, in preparation for the Pacific Games in Honiara. (PR)