12th May 2026
The final night of pool competition at the Fiji National Aquatic Centre delivered a fitting close to the 14th Oceania Aquatic Championships, with strong home performances, new records and widespread representation from across Oceania Aquatics member nations. 11 medals were claimed by Oceania Aquatic member competitors.
The evening opened with the Mixed 400m Freestyle Relay, where Fiji claimed gold in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. The team of Khelan, McCutcheon, McCaig and Young set a new competition record, making an energetic start to the session. Samoa finished 6th and Papua New Guinea 7th.
In the Men’s 800m Freestyle, Fiji’s Tilden Samuelu made it to the final and placed 8th.
The Women’s 800m Freestyle saw Samoa’s Talia Saumamao finish 5th, while Fiji’s Salote Leca delivered a personal best performance and came 8th.
Cook Islands’ Carter Makira was the sole Oceania Aquatics member representative in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley final, finishing 6th.
Samoa’s Nafanua Hamilton claimed bronze and recorded a personal best in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley. The B Final featured strong regional representation from Cook Islands, Fiji, Northern Mariana Islands and Papua New Guinea. With personal bests for Alicia Story of Cook Islands, Vivita Bai of Fiji and Northern Mariana Islands’ swimmers Piper Raho and Maria Guerrero. In the heats Papua New Guinea’s Roxanne Kirarock shaved one second off her personal best.
The Men’s 50m Freestyle brought high energy, with loud crowd support for the short sprint event. The race was dominated by Oceania Aquatics member nations. Fiji’s Tolu Young took gold, with teammate Hansel McCaig securing bronze. Northern Mariana Islands’ Juhn Tenorio placed 4th with a personal best. Personal bests were recorded by all including Guam’s Israel Poppe and Samoa’s Johann Strickland.
In the heats of the Men’s 50m Freestyle, Federated States of Micronesia’s Katerson Moya made a significant improvement, cutting nine seconds from his personal best. A number of swimmers also recorded personal bests, including Vanuatu’s Dani Teliemb and Leo Lebot, Tonga’s Alexander Villiami and Federated States of Micronesia’s Nicholas Vava.
Also in the heats, Marshall Islands’ Jacob Hutchinson made his debut in the Men’s 50m Freestyle as the nation’s sole competitor. Solomon Islands’ Brenton Naka was also among those competing in the heats.
In the Women’s 50m Freestyle, Fiji’s Anahira McCutcheon claimed gold with a personal best. Teammate Grace Khelan placed 4th, also setting a personal best, while Samoa’s Paige Schendelaar-Kemp finished 6th with a strong swim. The B Final saw further personal bests for Cook Islands’ Mia Laben, Guam’s Amaya Bollinger, Vanuatu’s Loane Russet and Northern Mariana Islands’ Piper Raho, with American Samoa’s Liana Planz and Fiji’s Jonalese Vatubua also featuring.
The heats saw 38 entries and a strong showing of personal bests. Among them were Federated States of Micronesia’s Kaylinn Kihleng, Papua New Guinea’s Tehila Vavar and Vanuatu’s Chloe Amera.
Cook Islands’ Jacob Story delivered gold and a new championship record in the Men’s 200m Breaststroke. Samoa’s Christian Toia recorded a personal best to finish 4th, while Northern Mariana Islands’ Kouki Watanabe placed 8th. In the heats Papua New Guinea’s Ashton Nasinom dropped 13 seconds from his personal best.
Cook Islands continued their strong campaign with another gold in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke, won by Lanihei Connolly. Northern Mariana Islands’ Maria Batallones finished 8th.
In the Men’s 400m Medley Relay, Fiji secured bronze through Thaddeus, Yalimaiwai, McCaig and Young. Northern Mariana Islands placed 5th, Samoa 6th, Palau 7th and Papua New Guinea 8th.
Fiji added another bronze in the Women’s 400m Medley Relay, with Moss, Mudunasoko, McCutcheon and Khelan. Northern Mariana Islands finished 5th. A mixed Oceania team also competed, featuring swimmers from Palau, Galyah and Ruluked, with Guam’s Bollinger and Hosei.
The night concluded with awards and expressions of gratitude to Fiji Swimming for hosting the competition. Cook Islands’ Jacob Story received one of the top honours, the Roger Smith Award for best male athlete of the competition, presented by Oceania Aquatics President Matt Dunn.
The final night reflected the strength of regional competition, with personal bests, national representation and record-breaking performances highlighting the continued growth of swimming across Oceania. Tomorrow, Open Water the last day of the championships.
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Thank you to Oceania Aquatics and World Aquatics continental support funding a new generation of Pacific Island reporters during these Championships, with eight trainees from Fiji and Samoa swimming federations working alongside The Reporters’ Academy to develop their skills, capture athlete stories, and share the voices of Pacific swimmers with a global audience.