Today at the Games is a daily podcast bringing you the successes and untold stories of the Pacific Oceania athletes and nations as they compete in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Guest presenter, Samoan and Secretary General of Samoa National Olympic Committee Maureen Tuimalealiifano, talks us through our sixth episode.

As part of this episode, we talked to Head Coach of Vanuatu’s Beach Volleyball, Steve Anderson. Steve goes into detail about the community which surrounds Beach Volleyball in Vanuatu, it’s not just a sport, it’s a lifestyle. It can help with tolerance, confidence, self-esteem and so much more; Volleyball is inspiring a new, younger generation! They also discuss the need to keep emotions in check while performing on a world stage.

We also spoke to the Pacific Oceania athletes who competed in Athletics, Table Tennis and Weightlifting who told us about their positive experiences post-event as well as what they think about during the action. They also told us how awesome the crowds have been during Birmingham 2022, showing the Commonwealth Games is living up to its name of the “friendly games”

Samoa Silver medallist Weightlifter, Jack Hitila Opeloge and Dengue Tagifano So’onalole-Sam Chong, joined us to share their thoughts after winning a silver medal at their first ever Commonwealth Games competition. It’s also clear to see that medal winning runs in the Opeloge family, as we saw Jack’s older brother, Don, win a gold medal in Weightlifting earlier in the competition. Jack also told us about his sister winning a bronze medal in the Mini Pacific games and his extended family having a history with winning medals in professional competitions - what a family!

The Oceania family also tell us their kind words and messages of thanks to Birmingham for being a home away from home during the Commonwealth Games 2022.

To wrap up this episode, we have the wonderful Cook Islands family who tell us about their culture as well as play us out with some traditional Cooks music! We also have the Pacific Oceania athletes tell us who or what their inspirations were which helped kick-start their sporting careers.

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