The Solomon Islands competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The delegation included two track and field athletes – Rosefelo Siosi and Sharon Firisua – as well as weightlifter Jenly Tegu Wini. Wini was a returning competitor from the 2012 London Olympics and also led the delegation in those Games. The Solomon Islands, however, has yet to win its first Olympic medal.
Background
The nation state of Solomon Islands comprises an archipelago of approximately a thousand islands that serves as home to almost 600,000 people. The islands were designated a protectorate of the United Kingdom in the 1890s, and remained under British control during World War II, where the archipelago was the centre of some of the war's worst fighting. In 1976, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate won the right to self-government, and declared independence in 1978 under the name Solomon Islands. The nation fell into a period of civil instability between then and 2003, when Australia led a multi-disciplinary mission, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) to restore law and order in the country.[1]
Jenly Tegu Wini participated on the Solomon Islands' behalf in the women's lightweight (58 kilogram) weightlifting competition.[9] Wini qualified through an unused quota place from the IWF to send a female weightlifter to the Olympics.[4] Wini had participated in the previous 2012 Summer Olympics in the same category, finishing 17th. She had previously won three silver medals in the women 69kg weightlifting event of the 2009 Pacific Mini Games in Rarotonga, albeit the bronze medal was not awarded due to insufficient competitors.[9][10] Her event took place on 9 March, and included 15 other athletes. During the snatch phase of the event, Wini succeeded in her first two attempts of lifting 80 kilograms (180 lb) and 84 kilograms (185 lb), but failed her third attempt of 87 kilograms (192 lb), ranking fourteenth. In the event's clean and jerk phase, Wini repeated the pattern of the snatch stage, successfully lifting her first two attempts of 100 kilograms (220 lb) and 104 kilograms (229 lb) but failing to lift 109 kilograms (240 lb). She finished fifteenth with a total of 188 kilograms (414 lb), 52 points under gold medalist Sukanya Srisurat and 26 points ahead of Ayesha Albalooshi.[11]
