Palau Mini Games: Samoa, Fiji and Northern Marianas break Tahiti's golden streak in the pool
ANOC tv
Tahiti's dominance in the pool on day four of the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Koror was broken by some golden moments shared by other Pacific Island swimmers at the Palau Swimming Pool.
Samoa's Paige Schendelaar-Kemp claimed gold in the women's 100 metres freestyle in a time of 57.84 seconds.
In the process she defeated Tahiti's Heimaru-Iti Bonnard, who had to be content with silver, and four other swimmers.
Fiji's Hansel McCaig followed through with his own golden swim, beating Samoan Hector Junior Langkilde, who finished second in the men's 100m freestyle.
Tahiti team-mates Keha Desbordes and Manea Teriierooiterai both took bronze.
Northern Mariana Islands' (NMI) golden boy Isaiah Roger Aleksenko continued with his own impressive performances, this time taking out the gold in the men's 200m butterfly, beating Tahiti's Nael Roux.
Aleksenko has proven to be a big threat for all other Pasifika swimmers at the meet, claiming top finishes in all his finals so far.
The Fijian team won the 4x50m mixed freestyle relay, ahead of Tahiti and Samoa.
Team Fiji had McCaig, Vivita Bai, Jonalese Vatubua and Tolu Young in their winning line-up.
McCaig told the media the win was a special gift for birthday girl, Bai.
"It's another medal to the tally; the girls pulled through on this one. They had to dig deep and worked hard in the morning to get us into the finals," he said.
"It's a very important race, it's Vivita's birthday today and she gets a very special birthday gift.
"As a team it's such an immeasurable feeling."
Bai said she was surprised and overjoyed with the gold medal win, dedicating the victory to her grandparents.
"Honestly I am still in shock on getting a medal especially on my birthday," she said.
"I am honoured and I hope I can do this again with them.
"I dedicate this win to my grandparents, especially my grandfather, and this is also a belated birthday gift to him."
Vatubua said she would not have won without the support of the team.
"I am also full of joy and honoured to get this gold medal, especially with this team," she said.
"I wouldn't have done it without them, without them pushing my limits.
"I dedicate this win to my mum and dad in Korea, my sisters back home, my coaches and my team-mates."
Young thanked the Team Fiji support.
"The whole Team Fiji really put us in a good position - they helped us mentally, made us laugh and distracted us from the pressure we faced in the race," he said.
"Very special win, first gold relay win and I dedicate this to Fiji as a whole."
The Tahitians still managed to add three more gold medals from the pool on the day, topping up their gold medal haul and stretching their lead on top of the medal tally.
By the end of the day, Tahiti had claimed 43 gold, 23 silver and nine bronze, with a total of 75 medals.
Samoa continue to stay in second place with a total haul of 13 gold, four silver and 14 bronze, while Australia finished the day off with a total of 12 gold medals, four more than Fiji, who now have eight gold to their name.
Day four saw some exciting clashes again in 3x3 basketball, in both the men and women's competition.
The event also doubles as the qualifiers for the 3x3 Basketball World Cup and the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Papua New Guinea pipped Fiji 8-7 in the final game of the Oceania 1 pool in the women's competition, having defeated Guam earlier in the day after the Guam team did not start. Fiji had started the day with a 21-0 win against Marshall Islands.
Oceania 2 matches saw the Solomon Islands beat NMI 15-10 in their final match.
In the men's Oceania1 group Palau pipped Fiji 19-18 in the final match of the day, earlier having beaten PNG 21-18 and Vanuatu 21-15. Fiji accounted for Marshall Islands 21-13 and beat Guam 22-14.
In Oceania 2 group, Tonga defeated the Solomon Islands 21-15 in a tough clash in their final match of the day, the Tongans having also defeated Samoa 21-4 and Tahiti 20-12 earlier in the day.
The basketball competition takes a break on day five - Friday - and resumes on Saturday.
Guam and the Norrthern Mariana Islands (NMI) lead the competition with two wins each from three matches.
Matches were called off on Monday and Tuesday because of the unplayable condition of the Nippon Baseball Stadium.
NMI beat Fiji 15-7 on Thursday, before Guam defeated Palau 12-7.
The last match of the day saw a tight finish, where the Federated State of Micronesia pipped NMI 6-5.
Tonga's archery team has all its country's medals so far.
Photo:
Facebook/Palau 2025 Pacific Mini Games
The Tonga Sports Association and National Olympic Committee has applauded the performance of the country's archery team.
"A remarkable performance from our archery team in Palau, proudly bringing home 10 medals for the kingdom across both recurve and compound divisions," TASANOC said in a message to the team.
"Congratulations to all our athletes for their hard work, precision, and pride in representing Tonga. Malo 'aupito to the coaches and support team for this outstanding result."
The team has won two gold, five silver and three bronze - the sum total of the country's medals so far.
Leading their charge has been Hans Arne Jensen, who has won two gold medals.
Jensen claimed gold in both the men's individual double 720 round 70m and the men's individual match play in the recurve category.
He partnered with Halamehi Tangulu to win silver in mixed recurve.
In the compound - women category, Luisa Pongi has claimed two silver medals, one each in the double 720 round 50m and the match play.
Anna Fifita won two bronze medals in the double 720 round 50m and the match play.
In the compound - men competition Victory Pekipaki picked up two silver medals, one each on the double 720 round 50m and the match play.
Esela Mounga aso claimed a bronze in match play.
Competition continues in baseball, va'a, volleyball, beach volleyball, weightlifting and table tennis on Friday.
Track events also get underway in athletics, with medals up for grabs from early morning, when the men and women's 10,000m events get underway.
A number of finals in swimming in the late afternoon will be of interest to many, especially given the close competition between Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa and Northern Marianas.
2025 Pacific Mini Games medal tally at the end of day four of competitions on 3 July 2025.
Photo:
RNZ Pacific
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Photo: ANOC tv Tahiti's dominance in the pool on day four of the 2025 Pacific Mini Games in Koror was broken by some golden moments shared by other Pacific Island swimmers at the Palau Swimming Pool. Samoa's Paige Schendelaar-Kemp claimed gold in the women's 100 metres freestyle in a time of 57.84 seconds. In the process she defeated Tahiti's Heimaru-Iti Bonnard, who had to be content with silver, and four other swimmers. Fiji's Hansel McCaig followed through with his own golden swim, beating Samoan Hector Junior Langkilde, who finished second in the men's 100m freestyle. Tahiti team-mates Keha Desbordes and Manea Teriierooiterai both took bronze. Northern Mariana Islands' (NMI) golden boy Isaiah Roger Aleksenko continued with his own impressive performances, this time taking out the gold in the men's 200m butterfly, beating Tahiti's Nael Roux. Aleksenko has proven to be a big threat for all other Pasifika swimmers at the meet, claiming top finishes in all his finals so far. The Fijian team won the 4x50m mixed freestyle relay, ahead of Tahiti and Samoa. Team Fiji had McCaig, Vivita Bai, Jonalese Vatubua and Tolu Young in their winning line-up. McCaig told the media the win was a special gift for birthday girl, Bai. "It's another medal to the tally; the girls pulled through on this one. They had to dig deep and worked hard in the morning to get us into the finals," he said. "It's a very important race, it's Vivita's birthday today and she gets a very special birthday gift. "As a team it's such an immeasurable feeling." Bai said she was surprised and overjoyed with the gold medal win, dedicating the victory to her grandparents. "Honestly I am still in shock on getting a medal especially on my birthday," she said. "I am honoured and I hope I can do this again with them. "I dedicate this win to my grandparents, especially my grandfather, and this is also a belated birthday gift to him." Vatubua said she would not have won without the support of the team. "I am also full of joy and honoured to get this gold medal, especially with this team," she said. "I wouldn't have done it without them, without them pushing my limits. "I dedicate this win to my mum and dad in Korea, my sisters back home, my coaches and my team-mates." Young thanked the Team Fiji support. "The whole Team Fiji really put us in a good position - they helped us mentally, made us laugh and distracted us from the pressure we faced in the race," he said. "Very special win, first gold relay win and I dedicate this to Fiji as a whole." The Tahitians still managed to add three more gold medals from the pool on the day, topping up their gold medal haul and stretching their lead on top of the medal tally. By the end of the day, Tahiti had claimed 43 gold, 23 silver and nine bronze, with a total of 75 medals. Samoa continue to stay in second place with a total haul of 13 gold, four silver and 14 bronze, while Australia finished the day off with a total of 12 gold medals, four more than Fiji, who now have eight gold to their name. Day four saw some exciting clashes again in 3x3 basketball, in both the men and women's competition. The event also doubles as the qualifiers for the 3x3 Basketball World Cup and the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Papua New Guinea pipped Fiji 8-7 in the final game of the Oceania 1 pool in the women's competition, having defeated Guam earlier in the day after the Guam team did not start. Fiji had started the day with a 21-0 win against Marshall Islands. Oceania 2 matches saw the Solomon Islands beat NMI 15-10 in their final match. In the men's Oceania1 group Palau pipped Fiji 19-18 in the final match of the day, earlier having beaten PNG 21-18 and Vanuatu 21-15. Fiji accounted for Marshall Islands 21-13 and beat Guam 22-14. In Oceania 2 group, Tonga defeated the Solomon Islands 21-15 in a tough clash in their final match of the day, the Tongans having also defeated Samoa 21-4 and Tahiti 20-12 earlier in the day. The basketball competition takes a break on day five - Friday - and resumes on Saturday. Guam and the Norrthern Mariana Islands (NMI) lead the competition with two wins each from three matches. Matches were called off on Monday and Tuesday because of the unplayable condition of the Nippon Baseball Stadium. NMI beat Fiji 15-7 on Thursday, before Guam defeated Palau 12-7. The last match of the day saw a tight finish, where the Federated State of Micronesia pipped NMI 6-5. Tonga's archery team has all its country's medals so far. Photo: Facebook/Palau 2025 Pacific Mini Games The Tonga Sports Association and National Olympic Committee has applauded the performance of the country's archery team. "A remarkable performance from our archery team in Palau, proudly bringing home 10 medals for the kingdom across both recurve and compound divisions," TASANOC said in a message to the team. "Congratulations to all our athletes for their hard work, precision, and pride in representing Tonga. Malo 'aupito to the coaches and support team for this outstanding result." The team has won two gold, five silver and three bronze - the sum total of the country's medals so far. Leading their charge has been Hans Arne Jensen, who has won two gold medals. Jensen claimed gold in both the men's individual double 720 round 70m and the men's individual match play in the recurve category. He partnered with Halamehi Tangulu to win silver in mixed recurve. In the compound - women category, Luisa Pongi has claimed two silver medals, one each in the double 720 round 50m and the match play. Anna Fifita won two bronze medals in the double 720 round 50m and the match play. In the compound - men competition Victory Pekipaki picked up two silver medals, one each on the double 720 round 50m and the match play. Esela Mounga aso claimed a bronze in match play. Competition continues in baseball, va'a, volleyball, beach volleyball, weightlifting and table tennis on Friday. Track events also get underway in athletics, with medals up for grabs from early morning, when the men and women's 10,000m events get underway. A number of finals in swimming in the late afternoon will be of interest to many, especially given the close competition between Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa and Northern Marianas. 2025 Pacific Mini Games medal tally at the end of day four of competitions on 3 July 2025. Photo: RNZ Pacific
