Team Pacific will send a total of 13 athletes, consisting of seven women and six men, to represent the highest number of Paralympians from the region at the 2024 Paralympics. These athletes hail from six Pacific nations and will compete in sports including tae kwon do and athletics.
The upcoming Paralympics in Paris will feature approximately 4,400 athletes from 160 different countries. Each sport at the Paralympics has a specific classification system designed to ensure fair competition based on the impact of an athlete’s impairment on their performance.
As the event gets underway today, Team Pacific is ready to showcase their skills and dedication, according to the Oceania Paralympic Committee. The Committee’s president, Paul Bird, expressed pride and excitement about the participation of these athletes, urging support from both the Pacific and global communities.
The athletes, representing Fiji, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, and Kiribati, have arrived in Paris and are eager to compete among the world’s elite para athletes. Bird highlighted the importance of these athletes, stating that they symbolize not only their nations but also the aspirations of the entire Oceania region.
He emphasized, “With each step, each race, and each throw, they inspire the next generation to rise above challenges,” noting their readiness to excel in both para athletics and para taekwondo.
Ken Kahu, a javelin Paralympian, will have the honor of being Vanuatu’s flagbearer during the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. Kahu, who works in Australia under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme, was selected by the Vanuatu Paralympic Committee for this prestigious role. Vanuatu’s Paralympic chef de mission, Margaret McFarlane, expressed confidence in the athletes’ performance.
Tonga’s representative, Meleane Vasitai Leaaepeni Falemaka, known as “Vasi,” is set to compete in the women’s F37 discus throw event. Vasi’s journey is characterized by resilience and determination, having secured her place in the Games with a personal best throw of 16.68 meters during the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Marrakech, Morocco, in April 2024.
The Paralympics will come to a close on September 8.