Samoa participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9."All Oceania Nations to Head to London 2012 Together", International Paralympic Committee, 9 September 2011
The country was represented by two athletes, both in track and field.Samoa athletes , London 2012 official website They did not qualify for the Games and received a wild card invitation to compete.Cf. audio interview on this page. Sprinter Milo Toleafoa was the country's flag-bearer during the Games' opening ceremony."Hellen to carry our flag" , Solomon Star, 26 August 2012
Samoa did not win a medal at these Games.
Athletics
Milo Toleafoa competed in the men's 400m T38 (cerebral palsy, with a comparatively low level of disability). Toleafoa is a T37 athlete, with a somewhat greater level of disability, but there was no specific T37 event in the 400 metres.Milo Toleafoa , London 2012 official website Toleafoa was the flag bearer for the opening ceremonies. In heat 2, he finished fourth out of five, in 1:09.97 - almost fifteen seconds behind the top three athletes, but more than four seconds ahead of Timor-Leste's Filomeno Soares."Athlétisme - Qualifications et Finales", France Télévisions, 2 September 2012
Leitu Viliamu competed in the women's shot put F42-44 (lower limb amputee). She is a T42 athlete, with a greater degree of disability than some of the other competitors, but this is factored into the scoring. Her best throw was 5.32 metres, earning her 257 points; she finished a distant sixth and last."Women's Shot Put - F42/44" , London 2012 official website
Men's track and road events AthleteEventHeatFinalResultRankResultRankMilo Toleafoa400m T381:09.974did not advance
Women's field events AthleteEventDistancePointsRankLeitu ViliamuShot Put F42-445.322576
See also Summer Paralympic disability classification Samoa at the Paralympics Samoa at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Notes