Pacific Magazine > Magazine > August 1, 2003
South Pacific Games
Games Close on High Note
New Caledonia Leads Tally
The closing ceremony for the 12th South Pacific Games was held on July 11th in Suva, Fiji. Radio Australia reported it was a grey and wet day in Suva during the closing ceremonies. The games began on June 28.
The ceremony began with the traditional march of friendship with the athletes from the competing nations mixing together as they marched around Suva's national stadium for the final time.
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New Caledonia topped the medal tally with 242 medals, 91 of them gold. The host nation Fiji collected 198 medals, with 66 gold.
After the ceremony ended and the games flame extinguished, the athletes, officials, volunteers and the public joined in a party that lasted the evening.
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| As a judge looks on from the shadows, a weightlifter is a picture of disappointment after failing to qualify for the medal round in his category. |
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Medal Tally
|
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
| New Caledonia |
91 |
75 |
76 |
242 |
| Fiji |
66 |
70 |
62 |
198 |
| Tahiti |
55 |
29 |
43 |
127 |
| PNG |
33 |
28 |
20 |
81 |
| Nauru |
24 |
20 |
2 |
46 |
| Samoa |
18 |
17 |
21 |
56 |
| Tonga |
6 |
10 |
6 |
22 |
| Guam |
6 |
5 |
6 |
17 |
| FSM |
3 |
7 |
4 |
14 |
| Vanuatu |
2 |
10 |
9 |
21 |
| Cook Islands |
2 |
6 |
11 |
19 |
| Kiribati |
2 |
2 |
11 |
15 |
| Solomon Islands |
1 |
5 |
10 |
15 |
| Wallis & Futuna |
0 |
4 |
5 |
9 |
| Norfolk Island |
0 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
| American Samoa |
0 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
| Palau |
0 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
| Northern Marianas |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| Niue |
0 |
0 |
5 |
5 |
| Marshall Islands |
| Tuvalu |
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| Kylie Vernaudon of Tahiti shows off her gold and bronze medals from the SPG cycling competition. |
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| Makalesi Buliokiobo of Fiji proved to be one of the Games' superstars, capturing four gold medals. Buliokiobo set SPG records for the 100 meters and 200 meters, won the 400 meters and then led the Fiji women to a victory in the 4x100 relay. |
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| Viliami Sanft of Tonga competes in archery.
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| Wearing the gold medal for the men's discus, Shaka Sola, in middle, sings the national anthem of Samoa. Behind him is silver medalist Jean-Pierre Kotele of New Caledonia, and in front of Sola, is Kotele's teammate, Frederic Kiteau. With a throw of 50.46 meters, Sola just edged out Kotele, who had a measurement of 50.23 meters. Kiteau took bronze with a throw of 48.22 meters. |
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| Gaelle Truet of New Caledonia. |
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| In the first swimming event of the 12th South Pacific Games, Caroline Pickering of host nation Fiji acknowledges the crowd. Pickering did not disappoint in the 100 meter free style final, winning the gold medal. She would go on to win a second gold, six silver medals and a bronze. |
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| The top six finishers in the men's 100 meters race - the fastest men in the South Pacific. From left to right: Jack Howard, FSM, 6th place, 11.2 seconds; Jone Delai, Fiji, second place (silver), 10.9 seconds; John Lumkon, Fiji first place (gold), 10.8 seconds; Peter Pulu, PNG, third place (bronze), 10.9 seconds; John Howard, FSM, 5th place, 11.1 seconds, and; Wally Kirika, PNG, 4th place, 11.0 seconds. The Howards are brothers, from Chuuk State of the FSM, and are still in high school
(in Guam).
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| Showing a flair for style with her hat, Tago Cruickshank posts scores on the final day of SPG golf competition at the Fiji Golf Club. |
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| Sano Sakurai, first baseman for Palau's entry in the SPG baseball competition, leads his team out of the dugout to congratulate Guam baseball players after their July 8 game. Guam overcame Palau 6-1 to meet American Samoa in the gold medal game; Guam then triumphed 11-3 to capture the gold medal. American Samoa took silver, and the Federated States of Micronesia defeated Palau for the bronze. |
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