Iuniarra Sipaia (née Simanu, born 25 June 1993) is a Samoan female weightlifter. 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.
Career 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. She won the bronze medal at the 2011 Pacific Games.
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 competed in the women's +75 kg category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She continued her dominance in the sport at the 2016 Oceania Weightlifting Championships, winning 3 gold medals in the over 75 kg categories. She was also 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 New Zealand transgender weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard. Hubbard lifted a weight of 268 kg, which was 19 kg more than Sipaia's lift and raised controversial issues relating to the approval of Hubbard to compete at the international level.
After the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games she was subsequently suspended for using Triamcinolone acetonide. 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. She qualified for the 2020 Olympic games, but was unable to attend due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in September 2023 she qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. In 2024, she finished in 11th place in the women's +81kg event at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Major results YearVenueWeight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank123Rank123Rank Summer Olympics2024 Paris, France +81 kg 100 105 110 141 141 148 246 11World Championships2018Ashgabat, Turkmenistan +87 kg1021071111613514014313250152019Pattaya, Thailand +87 kg1021071071814114615011248162023 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia+87 kg 105 105 110 10 145 146 150 7 256 8IWF World Cup 2024 Phuket, Thailand +87 kg 105 110 112 10 150 155 160 6 267 7Pacific Games2011 Nouméa, New Caledonia +75 kg 871121992019 Apia, Samoa +87 kg 1031041081421471472552023 Honiara, Solomon Islands +87 kg 102107112145153158252Oceania Championships2010 Suva, Fiji +75 kg 758083496101105418842011 Darwin, Australia +75 kg 881152032012 Apia, Samoa +75 kg 929699411512112522142014 Mont-Dore, New Caledonia +75 kg 981021061271331332292016 Suva, Fiji +75 kg 1001041071301341392462017 Gold Coast, Australia +90 kg 1031081101371421462502018 Mont-Dore, New Caledonia +90 kg 1021061101361361362422019 Apia, Samoa +87 kg 1031041081421471472552021 Various, Oceania +87 kg 1021021071411411462482022 Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands +87 kg 1021041121471531572612024 Auckland, New Zealand +87 kg 101106110145155155265Arafura Games2019 Darwin, Australia +87 kg 102102 10721401441461253Commonwealth Games2010 Delhi, India +75 kg 82869010511011219672014 Glasgow, Scotland +75 kg 981021051261311362335Commonwealth Championships2013 Penang, Malaysia +75 kg 1005126622652016 Penang, Malaysia +75 kg 991041081251301352432017 Gold Coast, Australia +90 kg 1031081101371421462502019 Apia, Samoa +87 kg 103104108142147147255
References
External links
Iuniarra Sipaia at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (archived)