Feagaiga Stowers Wins Best Overall Female Lifter in Oceania Commonwealth Games Invitational
29 May 2022 Apia Samoa. Feagaiga Stowers continues her gold medal record breaking performance in representing Samoa in Weightlifting by winning the overall Best Female Lifter in the Oceania Commonwealth Games Invitational tournament held online on Saturday 28 May 2022.
The win for Samoa’s Commonwealth Games gold medalist came with a prize money of $5000 AUD.
Feagaiga Stowers also set a new Oceania Senior record of 155kg in the Clean and Jerk.
In the same comp, Don Opeloge won the overall Best Male Lifter and prize money of $5000 AUD. Don also set a New Oceania Record of 167kg in the Snatch while John Tafi set a New Oceania Junior Record in the Clean & Jerk with 166kg.
Feagaiga Stower’s latest achievement comes just two months after Stowers took out the Best Overall Female placing for the Oceania Online Cup held in March 2022. At the event she set three new Oceania records lifting 121kg in the snatch and 155kg in the clean and jerk to a total of 276kg, setting three new records for the region.
A survivor of abuse as a young girl who sought refuge with the Samoa Victim Support Group (SVSG), Feagaiga by her own admission says she was ‘shy and hopeless’ until she was given the opportuntiy by Tuaopepe Jerry Wallwork to take up weightlifting in 2016.
She told Samoa Global News in an earlier interview, that sport was her second chance in life that helped to rebuild her confidence and reset her life after the ordeal she had gone through.
“Weightlifting gave me hope and life again, thanks to my coach Tuaopepe for believing in me and pushing me to be a better person,” she had said.
“I found something that I am very passionate about and everytime I am competing people see me as me and not as a victim or survivor of sexual abuse;
“Everytime I am on the stage competing I know my country is behind me especially my Mama Lina;
“I am what I am now if it was not for the love of Mama Lina,” says Ms. Stowers referring to the President of SVSG Siliniu Lina Chang.
Born 17 November 2000, Feagaiga Stowers has been winning medals for Samoa since the Youth Commonwealth Games of 2015. She is a Youth World Champion gold medalist and world record holder.
Feagaiga Stowers was Samoa’s flag bearer for the 2019 XVI Pacific Games held in Samoa.
Born in Tuasivi the 18-year-old also from Sa’asa’ai and Fa’ala, Savaii has also won gold medals in the Pacific Games, the Arafura games, Commonwealth Gold Coast games and the Mini Games.
Stowers won Commonwealth gold for the 90+ division, and will be looking to better her 2018 performance where she secured gold with a total of 253 (113, 140, 140).
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