Iuniarra Sipaia (née Simanu, born 25 June 1993) is a Samoan female weightlifter.[1] She has represented Samoa in several international competitions such as Pacific Mini Games, Commonwealth Games, Oceania Weightlifting Championships and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | June 25, 1993 Motootua, Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Samoa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Weightlifting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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As a junior, she participated at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in the Girls' +63 event. She participated at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the +75 kg event.[2] She won the bronze medal at the 2011 Pacific Games.[3]
Iuniarra won gold medal at the 2013 Pacific Mini Games in the over 75 kg category and set a new milestone in the sport of Weightlifting in Samoa. She was able to represent Samoa at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and competed in the women's over 75 kg category. She continued her dominance in the sport as she claimed 3 gold medals in the over 75 kg categories at the 2016 Oceania Weightlifting Championships.[4] She was also the part of the Samoan delegation which made its debut at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games and claimed a bronze medal in the women's +90 kg event.
At the 2017 Australian Open Weightlifting Championships, she emerged as runners-up to a New Zealand transgender weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard. Laurel Hubbard lifted a weight of 268 kg, which was 19 kg more than that of Iuniarra Sipaia of Samoa and raised controversial issues relating to the approval of Laurel Hubbard to compete at the international competition.[5][6]
After the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games she was subsequently suspended for using Triamcinolone acetonide.[7] In April 2018 she cleared herself out and her ban was abolished. However, she missed the 2017 Pacific Mini Games, where she was a defending champion and couldn't compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[8]
At the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in September 2023 she qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.[9]
Major results edit
| Year | Venue | Weight | Snatch (kg) | Clean & Jerk (kg) | Total | Rank | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Result | Rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | Result | Rank | |||||
Representing  Samoa
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| World Championships | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 |  Pattaya, Thailand[10] |
+87 kg | 102 | 102 | 18 | 141 | 146 | 146 | 11 | 248 | 16 | |||
| 2018 |  Ashgabat, Turkmenistan |
+87 kg | 102 | 107 | 107 | 16 | 135 | 140 | 143 | 143 | 13 | 250 | 15 | |
| Pacific Games | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Apia, Samoa |
+87 kg | 103 | 104 | 108 | 108 |  |
142 | 147 | 147 |  |
255 |
| |
| Arafura Games | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 |  Darwin, Australia |
+87 kg | 102 | 107 | 107 | 2 | 140 | 144 | 146 | 146 | 1 | 253 | 
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| Oceania Championships | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Apia, Samoa |
+87 kg | 103 | 104 | 108 | 108 | 3 | 142 | 147 | 147 | 1 | 255 |
| |
| 2018 |  Mont-Dore, New Caledonia |
+90 kg | 102 | 106 | 106 | 1 | 136 | 136 | 2 | 242 |
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| 2017 | Gold Coast, Australia |
+90 kg | 103 | 108 | 108 | 2 | 137 | 142 | 142 | 2 | 250 |
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| 2016 |  Suva, Fiji |
+75 kg | 100 | 104 | 107 | 107 | 1 | 130 | 134 | 139 | 139 | 1 | 246 |
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| 2014 | Mont-Dore, New Caledonia |
+75 kg | 98 | 102 | 102 | 3 | 127 | 127 | 3 | 229 |
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| Commonwealth Championships | ||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Apia, Samoa |
+87 kg | 103 | 104 | 108 | 108 | 3 | 142 | 147 | 147 | |
255 |
| |
| 2017 | Gold Coast, Australia |
+90 kg | 103 | 108 | 108 | 2 | 137 | 142 | 142 | 2 | 250 |
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| 2016 |  Penang, Malaysia |
+75 kg | 99 | 104 | 108 | 108 | 1 | 125 | 130 | 135 | 135 | 1 | 243 |
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| 2013 | Penang, Malaysia |
+75 kg | — | — | — | 100 | 5 | — | — | — | 126 | 6 | 226 | 5 |
| Commonwealth Games | ||||||||||||||
| 2014 |  Glasgow, Scotland |
+75 kg | 98 | 102 | 102 | 4 | 126 | 131 | 131 | 4 | 233 | 5 | ||
References edit
- ^ "IWRP - Weightlifting Database". www.iwrp.net. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Weightlifting at the 2010 Commonwealth Games - Iuniarra Simanu". iwf.net. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- ^ "2011 Pacific Games - Iuniarra Simanu". iwf.net. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
- ^ "Results by Events - International Weightlifting Federation". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Woman lifter beaten by transgender speaks up". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "Transgender weightlifter under fire from competitors after qualifying for Commonwealth Games". Women in the World in Association with The New York Times - WITW. 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
- ^ "PUBLIC DISCLOSURE". www.iwf.net. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ^ "Samoan weightlifter cleared, ban overturned". www.radionz.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
- ^ Talaia Mika (17 September 2023). "Don and Iuniarra qualify for Olympic Games". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "2019 World Weightlifting Championship Results" (PDF). IWF. Retrieved 5 October 2019.