Thirty-four-year-old Samoan star weightlifter Vaipava Nevo Ioane who announced his retirement from the sport last August is back on the podium.

He will be joining four other weightlifters in the Pacific Elite International weightlifting tournament Hawthorn which gets underway in March.

Vaipava announced his retirement after claiming Samoa’s first silver medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham, England and bowed out of the sport upon his return from the United Kingdom. 

He will join Samoa's Commonwealth gold medalists, Don Opeloge, Feagaiga Stowers as well as Sanele Mao and Commonwealth silver medalist Jack Opeloge in the tournament. 

Other weightlifters who will also be competing in the tournament include Avatu Opeloge, Faustina Opeloge, Lesila Teapule and Imoasina Pelenato in the women's category as well as John Tafi and Tovio Ah Chong in the Men's.

The tournament will kick off on 25 March 2023 at the Victorian Weightlifting Stadium Linda Crescent Hawthorn in Australia.

In the leading up to the tournament, the team have been training hard for the competition as well as attending various tournaments abroad.

Don Opeloge's gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year remains one of last year's sporting highlights.

Coach and Samoa Weightlifting Federation President, Tuaopepe Jerry Wallwork said in previous interviews with the Samoa Observer he was grateful that his team has achieved such a great result for Samoa at the Commonwealth Games last year. 

"I hope what we had achieved is enough for our country and we hope we have made our people proud," Tuaopepe said. 

The hard work and efforts of Samoa's weightlifting team at the Commonwealth Games last year will go down in the annals of Samoan sporting history for propelling Samoa to achieve one of its greatest ever Commonwealth Games results.