8th October 2019 Tahiti. It was a clean-sweep for Samoa’s Bodybuilding team, with all 5 athletes taking out gold in their respective divisions at the IFBB South Pacific Championships held in Tahiti last week.
Two Samoan bodybuilders have secured their pro-cards, earning them the right to compete as International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Elite Professionals on the IFBB Pro-Tour.
Two-time and current Mr Samoa title-holder, John Lemoa and Arona Mataia won 2 out of the 3 pro-cards which were up for grabs at the recently completed IFBB South Pacific Oceania Championships in Tahiti.
The pair took out their respective divisions to be awarded Overall Champions for Men’s Bodybuilding and Men’s Physique.
As part of the pro-card offer, Lemoa and Mataia have 12-months to decide if they wish to turn professional.
The lone female athlete in the team Tunu Matautia won gold in Women’s Physique, while Taiwan Vili won gold in Men’s Bodybuilding in the Under-70kgs category and Albert Wilson took out the gold medal in the (Men’s Bodybuilding) Under 80-kgs division.
After winning their divisions, all of Samoa’s male athletes were in contention for the title of ‘Overall Winner’ which was awarded to John Lemoa.
Bodybuilding Federation of Samoa (BBFS) President Magele Johannas Keil said that, “we are extremely proud of the team’s achievements, which once again reinforces Samoa’s position as the powerhouse of bodybuilding in the region”.
Team Samoa is now in Auckland where it is preparing to compete at the IFBB New Zealand Championship on Saturday 12th October. Following this, BBFS will participate at the 73rd World Bodybuilding Championships in the United Arab Emirates during 8th – 10th November and then stage its annual Mr Samoa Bodybuilding Championship on 16th November.
“We acknowledge the dedication and sacrifice made by our Athletes and also say thank you very much to our supporters and sponsors who made our participation possible” said Magele.
“We thank in particular our Government through the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, Gambling Control Authority, Transworks, Eveni, Samoa Airways, Samoa Commercial Bank, Aldan Construction, Joe’s Gym (Bodybuilding Club), SIFA, Faleolo Airport Lounge and Lotopa Foodie”, added Magele.
