Four of Samoa's Powerlifting team returned home with medals from the Oceania Powerlifting tournament in Nauru.

The team won a total of 10 medals.

In an interview with Samoa Observer, powerlifter Benitto Krieg said it was tough competition considering there were more than 10 countries vying for the titles. 

He said they were confident with their preparations and their faith.

"The management did not travel with us due to financial issues. We only managed to pay for the athletes. We only had one female on our team, who was supposed to compete in the Juniors but she competed in the 84kg class category which is higher than the division she was supposed to," he said.

"Leotina defied all odds and won four gold medals for Samoa, and even won the best female award for the Junior division. John and I won bronze medals. John was supposed to compete in the 83kg class body weight but due to the entering of our body weights into the app that was used by Oceania, we accidentally entered 93 instead of 83. Despite that, he pulled through and won himself a bronze medal. Our last athlete was Oliver Kirisome, he won four gold medals for us as well."

The team will now be taking some time off from training but will continue to train on their own at JP's Gym. With a successful Oceania tournament, it also concludes the 2024 competitions. 

Powerlifting Samoa has already set plans and their calendar for 2025. They are planning on approaching the Ministry of Education and Culture for an opportunity to get the sports to the college level. Powerlifting has big goals for 2025.