Updates on our Summer Youth Olympic Games Athletes from American Samoa Government Sports Commissioner Ethan Lake in Nanjing, China!!! Ni hao American Samoa, Well, finding the time to write has been challenging this time around. I was hoping to send out daily postcards to keep everyone back home updated on our daily activities. However, it has been much busier than I was anticipating for all of us. During the last Youth Olympic Games, we only had three youth athletes and three coaches. This Youth Olympic Games we have 5 youth athletes and only 2 coaches. In addition our training venues are and average of about an hour away due to traffic. SO it takes us time just to get to our practices. Nonetheless, I am happy to finally be writing my second “Postcard to Home”. Some of you may have already received the results and pics of Faresa Kapisi’s first race on August 21st. Our Chef de mission (CDM), Manua Chen, has really been on top of the action with great photos and instant reporting. As was reported by him already, Faresa Kapisi finished 8th in his heat for the 100m qualifications. Mid-way through the 100 m race, Faresa did slow down a bit due to a nagging injury he suffered in previous competition. From the advice of the tournament organizers, Faresa went directly to the hospital after his race to be seen by the local doctors. Faresa is OK , but his next race August 23rd is still questionable. He has since been graciously assisted by the USANOC medical team here with Team USA. Faresa Kapisi’ is one of only 5 American Samoa youth athletes that were able to qualify for the 2nd Youth Olympic Games here in Nanjing China. Faresa qualified in the Sydney Jr Championships that was held this past May, where he had been invited to compete and qualify. After Qualifying for the Youth Olympic Games at the Sydney Jr Championships, Fareasa then went on to compete at the Oceania Championships in the Cook Islands. He was then able to travel last month to Eugene Oregon to compete in the World Jr Championships where he did very well. Despite his injury, Feresa has also been invited to be a part of the Oceania relay team set to compete August 26th. Our other four athletes (wrestlers) are doing well. Jordan Leilua (42kg) and Schey Mc Moore will be weighing in Sunday August 24th, for their matches on Monday August 25th. Faifua Ipolito (46kg) and Iafeta Vou (76kg) will be weighing in Tuesday August 26th, for their matches on Wednesday August 27th. All four are looking forward to the opportunity to represent American Samoa at this international level. All of the athletes were shocked when they found out that their names and accomplishments of making it to the Youth Olympic Games have already been posted on Wikipedia along with pending results. You can check out the site at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Samoa_at_the_2014_Summer_Youth_Olympics The wrestlers were also amazed when they read in Wikipedia that American Samoa is one of only 8 countries, which qualified at least 4 wrestlers to the Youth Olympic Games. This was a surprise to them seeing top countries such as the United States only qualifying 3 wrestlers’ while other big countries such as and Australia and China only qualified 1 wrestler each. You can check out the site at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling_at_the_2014_Summer_Youth_Olympics All of the athletes have been practicing hard every day. Between their practices and training sessions, they have been busily involved with many of the cultural booths and cultural activities planned for the athletes. This has kept them all extremely busy every day. To track their activities and experiences during the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), all of them have been given a unique device called the YOGGER. This device is able to share information and transfer data between other devices simply by touching the two devices side by side for a brief second. Data can then also be uploaded on to a computer or the internet though the built in USB end. Using the YOGGER to track their accomplishments in activities and challenges, athletes are able to win prizes such as water bottles, cordless speakers, and backpacks. The athletes & coaches want to thank all their families and friends for all their support and prayers. They also want to thank all those who have helped and supported these them in their quest, including the Governor, Lt Governor, DYWA, and ASNOC as well as the many sponsors and supporters of the two programs. They will all continue to do their best to represent American Samoa, the people, and the flag. For photos and images. Check out the site on Facebook to download from YOG. https://facebook/profile.php?id=100005527158293 Let’s Go Team American Samoa!
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 22:29:49 +0000
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