Saturday 9th May was the first day in Fiji’s National Aquatics Centre pool for the 14th Oceania Swimming Championships, where a newly upgraded World Aquatics–standard pool set the stage for a strong first day of long course racing.
Swimmers from 11 Oceania Aquatic member nations competed across 12 events, showcasing the growing depth of talent across the region. The program spanned sprint, middle-distance, and endurance races, along with two mixed relays that closed the session.
Fiji’s Tolu Young claimed the first gold medal in the Men’s 50m Butterfly, setting the tone for the host nation. Tolu was closely followed by Isiah Aleksenko taking silver and Jacob Story bronze. The busiest race for Oceania Aquatic’s member nations representing 7 out of 8 lanes.
Another gold for Fiji in the Women’s 50m Butterfly from Anahira McCutcheon, taking to the podium next to Paige Schendalaar-Kemp for bronze. Also notable was American Samoa’s sole representative, Liana Planz, who progressed through to the final.
In the Men’s 200m Freestyle final we saw Guam’s Israel Poppe and Palau’s Charlie Gibbons take to the water. During the Women’s 200m Freestyle Samoa’s Nafanua Hamilton took gold in a race alongside two Fijian’s, a Samoan teammate and Kestra Kihleng of Federated States of Micronesia.
The Men’s 100m Backstroke final was close, resulting in Isaiah Aleksenko taking silver. Fiji’s Thaddeus Kwong was only 4 seconds behind in 8th place. Tonga’s Alexander Villiami came first in the B finals with a new personal best.
In the Women’s 100m Backstroke Nafanua Hamilton won bronze, the finals saw representation from Samoa, Cook Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, Fiji, and Papua New Guinea’s lone daily competitor Joanna Chen.
Next was the Men’s 200m Butterfly, Northern Mariana Island’s Matthew Szefler took 4th place. In the Women’s 200m Butterfly Alicia Story took to the podium for bronze, Amaya Bollinger came 4th.
The penultimate event was the epic 1500m Freestyles. In the Men’s race Northern Mariana Island’s Richard Zhao worked hard and came 6th. In the long Women’s 1500m Freestyle Samoa and Fiji represented three of the four lanes. Samoa’s Talia Saumamo took silver, whilst Fiji’s Salote Leca won bronze and Charis Kwong took a respectable 4th place finish.
The day concluded with the 200m and 400m Mixed Relay events, where Fiji delivered standout performances. McCraig, McCutcheon, Khelan and Young combined to win gold in the 200m Mixed Freestyle. In the 400m Mixed Medley, Kwong, Yalimaiwai, McCutcheon and Bai secured bronze.What a fantastic first day for the host nation Fiji.
The day highlighted encouraging trends for the region, with Oceania Aquatics member nations achieving top three placings in 8 of the 12 events. Cook Islands, Fiji, Northern Mariana and Samoa all secured podium finishes. Strong performance progression was also evident, with National Records and personal bests being set. Vanuatu recorded five new National Records through Léo Lebot, Remy Idieder, Chloe Ameara and Loane Russet, while Tonga’s Alexander Villiami and Finau Ohuafi delivered notable personal best performances.
…
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.