14th May 2026
Team Samoa brought a team of 12 swimmers to the 14th Oceania Swimming Championships in Fiji, delivering an inspiring campaign filled with personal bests, finals appearances, relay success, and podium finishes against some of the region’s strongest swimming nations.
The team finished the championships with an impressive haul of 7 medals: 1 gold, 1 silver, and 5 bronze. The Samoan national anthem played out across Fiji’s Aquatics Centre to crowds of supportive spectators and in front of over 160 swimmers from across the nations of Oceania.
Across four days of racing, swimmers produced breakthrough performances while proudly representing Samoa with resilience, unity, and pride.
Kaiya Brown
At 22 years old, Kaiya Brown brought experience and leadership to Team Samoa’s campaign in Fiji. Brown competed in the Women’s 100m Backstroke, placing 16th in 1.13.60, before reaching the finals of the Women’s 50m Backstroke where she finished 15th in the final with 33.78. She also represented Samoa in the Women’s 100m Freestyle.
For Brown, the championships were about more than results alone, reflecting on the unique atmosphere of the Oceania Championships and the importance of regional connection.
“Being at an outdoor pool and surrounded by a lot of Oceania countries, it’s awesome to come together like this.
What would Kaiya like to say to her supporters? “A really big thank you, we’re really grateful for what we came to do and what we are able to achieve, so our biggest thing is thanks and gratitude.”
Her words captured the spirit of the Samoan team throughout the meet, grounded in gratitude, unity, and pride in representation.
Skye Dennis-Wesche
17 years old Skye Dennis-Wesche competed across the freestyle events for Samoa, taking on the Women’s 200m Freestyle, 100m Freestyle, and 400m Freestyle. A highlight of her campaign came in the 200m Freestyle where she recorded a personal best performance.
Competing across multiple middle-distance events, Dennis-Wesche contributed valuable depth to Samoa’s women’s squad while continuing to build racing experience against strong Oceania competition.
On the last day of the Championships Skye also competed in the tough Open Water 5K “going into the race I was stoked and pumped, during the race I didn’t feel comfortable in the water, my stroke was a bit off, it wasn’t the results I wanted, I added more than 10 minutes which isn’t what I was training for but anything can happen in the water”. “It was a mental game, this 5k I wanted to give up on the first lap but I knew I had to keep going because I had my teammates supporting me, parents and coaches supporting me.”
Kokoro Frost
Kokoro Frost opened his championships strongly in the Men’s 50m Butterfly, placing 8th in his first event of the competition. He followed this with a 9th place finish in the Men’s 50m Backstroke before advancing to the finals of the Men’s 100m Butterfly, where he placed 8th in 58.62.
Frost also raced in the Men’s 50m Freestyle, finishing 15th in 24.93. Across sprint butterfly, backstroke, and freestyle events, he showcased versatility and consistency while contributing important relay performances for Team Samoa.
La’auli Hamilton
La’auli Hamilton enjoyed a busy and productive championships program, highlighted by multiple personal best swims and finals appearances. In the Men’s 200m Freestyle he placed 11th with a personal best improvement of 10.36, while also racing strongly in the Men’s 100m Freestyle finals where he again recorded a personal best of 54.59.
Hamilton added solid performances in the breaststroke events, swimming 1.13.02 for 19th in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke, 31.80 in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke, and 2.43.69 for 12th in the 200m Breaststroke. He also recorded a personal best of 25.02 in the 50m Freestyle and placed 14th in the 50m Backstroke in 28.93.
Representing Samoa on the international stage was something Hamilton deeply valued.
“Big shout out to Samoa Aquatics for giving me the opportunity to do this. It’s such an amazing opportunity to compete with the other countries in Oceania and to represent my country”
One of his proudest moments came in the Men’s 100m Freestyle where he successfully broke through another barrier.
“I was really happy with my race because in the heats I got a PB , I was just at the 55 so I wanted to drop under to get into the 54s and I managed to do it.”
Nafanua Hamilton
Nafanua Hamilton emerged as one of Team Samoa’s standout performers in Fiji, collecting four individual medals and producing a series of exceptional swims throughout the championships.
Hamilton claimed gold in the Women’s 200m Freestyle, swimming a personal best of 2.07.32 and improving by 4.81 seconds. She added bronze medals in the Women’s 400m Freestyle with a personal best 4.34.53, the Women’s 200m Backstroke in a personal best 2.23.78, and the Women’s 200m Individual Medley where she dropped three seconds for 2.25.67.
She narrowly missed the podium in both backstroke sprint events, finishing 4th in the Women’s 100m Backstroke with a personal best 1.17 and 4th again in the Women’s 50m Backstroke final with a personal best of 30.61. Hamilton also impressed in the Women’s 100m Freestyle finals with another personal best of 59.07 and placed 13th in the heats of the Women’s 50m Freestyle in 28.14.
Her performances reflected both talent and determination, but Hamilton remained focused on the people who helped her reach the championships.
“Thank you to my family for everything they sacrificed to let me come here and all my friends and loved ones just supporting me all the way.”
Solomona Hamilton
Twenty-year-old Solomona unfortunately was unable to compete in his four anticipated events due to illness,
Solomona did recover to contribute to Team Samoa’s relay efforts during the championships, racing as part of the Men’s 400m Freestyle Relay squad.
Hamilton played an important role in the team environment that is always a defining feature of Team Samoa’s.
Salani Sa’aga
Salani Sa’aga celebrated her 18th birthday during the championships and produced a series of strong performances across backstroke, butterfly, and freestyle events.
Sa’aga reached the finals of the Women’s 100m Backstroke, placing 8th in 1.08.55, and also made the Women’s 50m Backstroke final where she finished 7th in 32.27. In the Women’s 200m Backstroke she placed 6th in the finals with 4.07.89.
She also raced in the Women’s 50m Butterfly, placing 15th in 30.19, before finishing 12th in the Women’s 100m Butterfly in 1.07.75. Additional swims included the Women’s 100m Freestyle in 1.03.97 and the Women’s 50m Freestyle where she placed 23rd in the heats in 29.56.
Coming directly from the Australian Age Championships into Oceania competition, after her 50m Backstroke race Salani reflected positively on maintaining strong form across back-to-back meets.
“Being able to be close to my PB or just go fast from heats to finals was really nice, which is what I did today. I was off my PB, but overall happy.”
For Sa’aga, competing for Samoa carries deep personal meaning.
“I love swimming for my nation. It’s definitely a way to, represent my culture, represent my family’s heritage, give back to where I came from. And it’s so lovely to have the Samoan flag on everything I do.”
Talia Saumamao
Eighteen-year-old Talia Saumamao delivered one of Samoa’s medal-winning performances in the distance freestyle events, earning silver in the Women’s 1500m Freestyle with a major personal best improvement of 39.36 seconds, finishing in 19.46.35.
Saumamao also placed 7th in the Women’s 200m Freestyle final in 2.21.10 after recording a personal best in the heats. Her strong distance program continued with a 7th place finish in the Women’s 400m Freestyle in 4.59.03 and 5th in the Women’s 800m Freestyle in 10.23.98.
She also competed in the Open Water Event where she placed 5th in 1.10.07.90 against established teams from Australia, Tahiti, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. Saumamao was the only Oceania Aquatics Member representative to receive an official result after finishing within the allocated time standard.
“I tried really hard, I would have liked to have come a little higher, the conditions were really grey, I’m really proud of myself… leading up to my next open water I need to have more endurance training and get better at sighting and finding the bouys”
Her results highlighted Samoa’s growing strength in distance freestyle events and marked her as one of the team’s rising talents.
Paige Schendelaar-Kemp
27 year old Paige Schendelaar-Kemp added another medal to Team Samoa’s tally with a bronze medal performance in the Women’s 50m Butterfly, where she swam a personal best in 27.86.
She also reached the finals of the Women’s 100m Butterfly, placing 6th after improving her personal best by 0.98 seconds. In the Women’s 50m Freestyle she placed 6th in 26.90 while also recording another personal best.
Reflecting on the highs and lows of elite competition, Schendelaar-Kemp spoke honestly about the lessons gained from the championships.
“Swimming is a hard sport. A lot of ups, a lot of downs. So I would say my results from this meet, to sum it up in one word, would probably be ‘learning’. Taking what I can from my races and seeing how I can move forward in the next couple of months.”
Johann Stickland
Johann Stickland produced consistent sprint performances throughout the championships, beginning with a 6th place finish in the Men’s 50m Butterfly in 25.41.
He also recorded a personal best of 30.83 in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke before placing 6th in the finals of the Men’s 50m Freestyle in 23.88.
Stickland’s sprint speed made him an important contributor in Samoa’s relay teams across the competition.
Christian Toia
Christian Toia delivered a strong breaststroke campaign for Team Samoa, highlighted by a 7th place finish in the Men’s 100m Breaststroke in 1.05.63.
He also placed 4th in the finals of the Men’s 200m Breaststroke in 2.23.60, narrowly missing the podium, and finished 9th in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley in 2.19.12. In the Men’s 50m Breaststroke he placed 6th in 3.38.75.
Toia’s performances established him as one of Samoa’s key relay swimmers, particularly in the medley events where his breaststroke leg proved crucial.
Kobe Tuioti
Kobe Tuioti secured an individual bronze medal for Samoa in the Men’s 200m Backstroke, swimming a personal best 2.12.07 after improving by 0.16 seconds.
His championships included a series of additional personal bests, including 27.08 in the Men’s 50m Butterfly, 1.00.28 in the Men’s 100m Backstroke, 55.99 in the Men’s 100m Freestyle, and 24.98 in the Men’s 50m Freestyle.
Tuioti also reached the finals of the Men’s 50m Backstroke where he placed 12th in 28.84 and competed in the Men’s 200m Individual Medley final, placing 10th with a personal best of 2.18.18 after dropping 4.04 seconds. He additionally swam 32.1 in the Men’s 50m Breaststroke.
His medal-winning backstroke performance capped off a championship filled with personal progress and strong international racing experience.
Relay Events
Team Samoa’s relay squads were a major highlight of the championships, reflecting the close camaraderie and family atmosphere that surrounded the team throughout the week.
On Day One, Samoa placed 7th in the Mixed 200m Freestyle Relay final in 1.42.86 through the efforts of Johann Stickland, Kokoro Frost, Kaiya Brown, and Nafanua Hamilton.
The Mixed 400m Medley Relay team of Salani Sa’aga (backstroke), Christian Toia (breaststroke), Paige Schendelaar-Kemp (butterfly), and La’auli Hamilton (freestyle) finished 6th in 4.11.83.
Day Two saw one of Samoa’s strongest relay performances as the Mixed 200m Medley Relay team of Nafanua Hamilton (backstroke), Christian Toia (breaststroke), Paige Schendelaar-Kemp (butterfly), and Johann Stickland (freestyle) placed 4th in the finals while recording a personal best improvement of 1.77 seconds.
The Women’s 400m Freestyle Relay team of Nafanua Hamilton, Salani Sa’aga, Talia Saumamao, and Paige Schendelaar-Kemp placed 6th in 4.07.89 on Day Three, while the men’s 400m Freestyle Relay team of La’auli Hamilton, Kobe Tuioti, Christian Toia, and Johann Stickland swam 3.38.75 after dropping 4.74 seconds from their previous best.
On the final day of competition, Samoa’s Men’s 400m Medley Relay team of Kobe Tuioti, Christian Toia, Kokoro Frost, and Johann Stickland placed 6th in 4.02.01.
…….
Throughout the championships, Samoa’s relay teams embodied the spirit of teamwork and national pride that defined their entire campaign. With many swimmers still developing and the Samoa’s Aquatic Center, Tuanaimato, reopening, creates renewed momentum for Samoan Aquatics, the future of Samoan swimming continues to look exceptionally bright.
…..
Other interviews with the team:
….
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.