Tyoni Batsiua (October 14, 1981 – 2004) was a Nauruan weightlifter. She won the Oceania Weightlifting Championships several times and earned six gold medals at the South Pacific Games.[2] She went on to compete in the World Weightlifting Championships and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Her career was cut short in 2004 by her sudden death at age 22.[3]

Tyoni Batsiua
Personal information
BornOctober 14, 1981
Boe District, Nauru
DiedJanuary 31 or February 1, 2004 (aged 22)
Denigomodu District, Nauru
OccupationWeightlifter
Years active1997–2004
Weight52.81 kg (116 lb) (1996)[1]

Biography

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Tyoni Batsiua was born in Nauru's Boe District in 1981.[3][4] She was a member of the Eamwit Tribe.[3]

Her first weightlifting success came as a teenager at the 1997 South Pacific Mini Games in Pago Pago. Two years later, she competed in the 1999 South Pacific Games in Guam, taking home three gold medals.[5] She won another three at the 2003 South Pacific Games in Fiji.[6] She also competed at the 1998 World Weightlifting Championships in Finland and the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[4][7][8]

In 2004, she planned to compete in the Summer Olympics in Athens, but late that January, she suffered serious injuries in a car accident. She died a few days later, on January 31 or February 1, 2004, at a hospital in Denigomodu District.[3] She left one daughter, named Oceana.[9] At the time of her death she held the junior and senior records in Oceania for the 58 kg class.[10] The Tyoni Batsiua Memorial Cup was established in Nauru in her honor.[11]

References

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  1. ^ "69th Men's and 12th Women's World Championships". IWF. 1996. Archived from the original on 2018-09-15.
  2. ^ "1998 Commonwealth, Oceania, and South Pacific Weightlifting Championships". Weightlifting Queensland. April 1998. p. 32.
  3. ^ a b c d "Births, Deaths and Marriages" (PDF). Republic of Nauru Government Gazette. 2005-08-17. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  4. ^ a b "Tyoni Batsiua". International Weightlifting Federation. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  5. ^ "Medal Tally by Sport". South Pacific Games Commission. 1999. Archived from the original on 2001-03-04.
  6. ^ "Weightlifting Competition". South Pacific Games. 2003. Archived from the original on 2015-07-09.
  7. ^ "Tyoni Batsiua". Commonwealth Sport. Archived from the original on 2020-05-04.
  8. ^ Roberts, John (2002-07-31). "Weightlifting: Breeze snatches gold but Batsiua is left with nothing". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  9. ^ "Personalty Estate of the Late Tyoni Batsiua" (PDF). Republic of Nauru Government Gazette. 2006-08-02. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  10. ^ "Mattie wins silver in Reno". The Marshall Islands Journal. 2015-12-18. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  11. ^ "Nauru Visit". Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation Latest News. April 2011. Retrieved 2023-08-01.