16th May 2026
The Oceania Swimming Championships wrapped up in spectacular fashion in Fiji, with athletes, officials, supporters and volunteers coming together to celebrate six days of outstanding performances, community spirit and Pacific pride.
There were thrilling races in the pool, sandwiched by open water races at the start and finish of the competition.
Oceania Aquatics President and World Aquatics First Vice President Matt Dunn praised the event, the athletes and the Fiji hosts during an interview reflecting on the championships.
“It’s always great to come back to Fiji,” Matt said. “The warmth and friendliness and the Pacific Island nature of all the volunteers and the way the event’s been delivered has been amazing.”
Matt also praised the renovated facility and the organisation behind the meet.
“It’s been dressed up perfectly. All the officials have done a great job keeping the meet on track and obviously the Fijian crowd makes a very big difference.”
One of the highlights for Matt was the diversity of medal winners across the competition.
“The athletes have done a great job around a huge diversity of athletes winning medals, which is really great to see.”
“I think the Oceania Aquatic family in the Pacific is very unique and a lot of the athletes are very close friends when they come together at events like this. So I’d say it’s one big family, a little bit of a party but everyone’s also very friendly and focused on high performance, which is fantastic.”
He also emphasised the importance of hosting competitions like this in Fiji and across Oceania.
“It builds capacity to be able to support the development of athletes. We need the capacity in the technical officials. We need the capacity in our media and reporting like you guys are doing.”
Matt praised initiatives like The Reporters’ Academy and acknowledged the support of the Fijian Government.
“It’s great to have The Reporters’ Academy training people like yourself. The technical officials need to deliver the event and the facilities, so the support of the Fijian government is really appreciated for this competition.”
The final day of competition took place at The Pearl Resort in Pacific Harbour, where swimmers competed in the Men’s and Women’s 5km Open Water races and the relay events.
The atmosphere was relaxed and celebratory, with teammates supporting their open water swimmers after completing their own pool events earlier in the week. Families, supporters and athletes enjoyed the beach setting, volleyball and the warm waters while cheering swimmers on from the shore.
Women’s 5km Open Water
The Women’s race featured swimmers from Guam, Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and Fiji.
Samoa’s Talia Saumamao finished fifth in a time of 1:10:07.90 and was the only Oceania Aquatics member country representative to finish within the qualifying time.
“I’m really proud of myself,” Saumamao said after the race. “Leading up to my next open water event I need to have more endurance training and get better at sighting and finding the buoys.”
Men’s 5km Open Water
The Men’s race featured representatives from Northern Mariana Islands, Cook Islands, Guam and Fiji.
Northern Mariana Islands swimmer Richard Zhao and Cook Islands swimmer Carter Makira both finished within the time limit, clocking 1:10:04.90 and 1:10:17.70 respectively, just 13 seconds apart, close when you consider they were swimming for over an hour.
Island Medals Introduced
One of the new initiatives introduced at this year’s Oceania Championships was the addition of Island Medals.
Dr Suzie Schuster of Treasurer of Oceania Aquatics explained that the medals were created to recognise high-level performances from Pacific Island athletes,
“We introduced the island medals to celebrate high level achievements,” Schuster explained.
Swimmers awarded an Island Medal must make the qualifying time as set out. If only New Zealand and Australia swimmers fill the podium then Pacific Island medals are awarded only if the swimmers time is better than the published qualifying team.
Suzie points out that government support is vital when bringing teams from the Pacific Island Nations to the Championships. “Government often see medals as a strong indicator that their national teams are doing well.” To recognise the outstanding performances of Oceania swimmers, Island Medals were introduced for athletes finishing outside the overall top three placings in pool events.
Island Medal Winners
Event 5: Men’s 100m Backstroke
- Island Bronze Medal: Sosthene Videau (Tahiti)
Event 6: Women’s 100m Backstroke
- Island Bronze Medal: Mia Laban (Cook Islands)
- Island Silver Medal: Lusia-Laa Ah Scha (New Caledonia)
- Island Gold Medal: Nafanua Hamilton (Samoa)
Event 9: Men’s 1500m Freestyle
- Island Bronze Medal: Theo Delande (New Caledonia)
Event 15: Women’s 50m Backstroke
- Island Gold Medal: Nafanua Hamilton (Samoa)
Event 16: Men’s 50m Backstroke
- Island Bronze Medal: Cruz Storer (Hawaii)
- Island Silver Medal: Juhn Tenorio (Northern Mariana Islands)
Women’s 50m Breaststroke
- Island Bronze Medal: Kelera Mudunasoko (Fiji)
- Island Silver Medal: Anahira McCutcheon (Fiji)
Event 40: Women’s 50m Freestyle
- Island Bronze Medal: Kamakana Kaahaaina (Hawaii)
- Island Silver Medal: Paige Schendelaar-Kemp (Samoa)
Records Broken During the Championships
Several championship records were broken throughout the week:
Mixed 4x50m Freestyle Relay
Team Fiji: 1:36.83
- Grace Khelan, Hansel McCaig, Tolu Young, Anahira McCutcheon
Men’s 50m Breaststroke
Samuel Yalimaiwai (Fiji): 28.22
Men’s 100m Breaststroke
Jacob Story (Cook Islands): 1:01.81
Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay
Team Fiji: 3:39.18
- Grace Khelan, Anahira McCutcheon, Hansel McCaig, Tolu Young
Men’s 800m Freestyle
Nael Roux (Tahiti): 8:20.94
Men’s 200m Breaststroke
Jacob Story (Cook Islands): 2:15.00
A Championship to Remember
The Oceania Swimming Championships once again showcased the incredible talent emerging from across the Pacific and strengthened the bonds between nations through swimming.
For Fiji, hosting the event proved a success and a celebration of community, culture and the future of swimming in the Pacific.
As athletes, coaches and supporters now look ahead to future regional and international competitions, the memories made in Fiji will remain a proud moment for everyone involved.
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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. Photo credit to Andrea Schuster and Adi Nacole.