Iuniarra Sipaia

Iuniarra Sipaia (born 25 June 1993) is a Samoan female weightlifter.[1] 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.

Iuniarra Sipaia

Personal information
Born	(1993-06-25) June 25, 1993 Motootua, Samoa
Sport
Country	Samoa
Sport	weightlifting
Medal record Representing  Samoa Women's Weightlifting Pacific Games 2019 Apia +87 kg Pacific Mini Games Kafika Hall 2013 +75 kg Oceania Weightlifting Championships Apia 2019 +87 kg Mont Dore 2018 +90 kg Gold Coast 2017 +90 kg Suva 2016 +75 kg Mont Dore 2014 +75 kg Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Ashgabat 2017 +90 kg Arafura Games Darwin 2019 +87 kg

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.[2] She won the bronze medal at the 2011 Pacific Games.[3]

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 was able to represent Samoa at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and competed in the women's over 75 kg category. She continued her dominance in the sport as she claimed 3 gold medals in the over 75 kg categories at the 2016 Oceania Weightlifting Championships.[4] She was also the 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 a New Zealand transgender weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard. Laurel Hubbard lifted a weight of 268kg, which was 19kg more than that of Iuniarra Sipaia of Samoa and raised controversial issues relating to the approval of Laurel Hubbard to compete at the international competition.[5][6]

After the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games she was subsequently suspended for using Triamcinolone acetonide.[7] In April 2018 she cleared herself out and her ban was abolished. However, she had to missed the 2017 Pacific Mini Games, where she was a defending champion and couldn't compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[8]

Major results

Year	Venue	Weight	Snatch (kg)					Clean & Jerk (kg)					Total	Rank
			1	2	3	Result	Rank	1	2	3	Result	Rank
Representing  Samoa
World Championships
2019	Pattaya, Thailand[9]	+87 kg	102	107	107	102	18	141	146	150	146	11	248	16
2018	Ashgabat, Turkmenistan	+87 kg	102	107	111	107	16	135	140	143	143	13	250	15
Pacific Games
2019	Apia, Samoa	+87 kg	103	104	108	108		142	147	147	147		255
Arafura Games
2019	Darwin, Australia	+87 kg	102	102	107	107	2	140	144	146	146	1	253
Oceania Championships
2019	Apia, Samoa	+87 kg	103	104	108	108	3	142	147	147	147	1	255
2018	Mont-Dore, New Caledonia	+90 kg	102	106	110	106	1	136	136	136	136	2	242
2017	Gold Coast, Australia	+90 kg	103	108	110	108	2	137	142	146	142	2	250
2016	Suva, Fiji	+75 kg	100	104	107	107	1	130	134	139	139	1	246
2014	Mont-Dore, New Caledonia	+75 kg	98	102	106	102	3	127	133	133	127	3	229
Commonwealth Championships
2019	Apia, Samoa	+87 kg	103	104	108	108	3	142	147	147	147		255
2017	Gold Coast, Australia	+90 kg	103	108	110	108	2	137	142	146	142	2	250
2016	Penang, Malaysia	+75 kg	99	104	108	108	1	125	130	135	135	1	243
2013	Penang, Malaysia	+75 kg	N/A	N/A	N/A	100	5	N/A	N/A	N/A	126	6	226	5
Commonwealth Games
2014	Glasgow, Scotland	+75 kg	98	102	105	102	4	126	131	136	131	4	233	5

References

1. "IWRP - Weightlifting Database". www.iwrp.net. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
2. "Weightlifting at the 2010 Commonwealth Games - Iuniarra Simanu". iwf.net. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
3. "2011 Pacific Games - Iuniarra Simanu". iwf.net. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
4. "Results by Events - International Weightlifting Federation". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
5. "Woman lifter beaten by transgender speaks up". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
6. "Transgender weightlifter under fire from competitors after qualifying for Commonwealth Games". Women in the World in Association with The New York Times - WITW. 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2017-12-05.
7. "PUBLIC DISCLOSURE". www.iwf.net. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
8. "Samoan weightlifter cleared, ban overturned". www.radionz.co.nz. Retrieved 2018-11-15.
9. "2019 World Weightlifting Championship Results" (PDF). IWF. Retrieved 5 October 2019.

External links

• Iuniarra Sipaia at the International Weightlifting Federation
• Profile at 2014 CWG
• Profile at Australian Weightlifting