When it comes the sport of weightlifting in the Pacific, outside of the star competitors, the other name that immediately comes to mind is coach Paul Coffa. In fact, his name resounds across the Pacific region, suggesting strength, power and success with regards to this sport.
His illustrious 26 year coaching career at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute includes inspirational stories, where young Pacific islanders dare to dream big and achieve greatness in the world of weightlifting. By establishing institutions and training facilities in the region, weightlifters from across the Pacific islands were able to come together and test themselves under Coffa’s tutelage. The list of successes is long, and includes Olympics 2008 silver medallist, Samoa’s Ele Opeloge, and former Nauru President and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Marcus Stephens.
Coffa has now moved to Australia, where he plans to continue his work. He closed the Institute in Nauru as the COVID19 pandemic meant scholarship lifters returned home, the Olympics were postponed to 2021 and borders closed. The Institute had previously been based in Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia.
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