Page 33 - IB February 2024

Sports Sports

Physical and tactical ... Leilua in competition. Photo: Supplied
ERONI LEILUA,

THE SAMOAN OLYMPIAN

By Alipate Pareti clubs are more affordable than the sailing clubs in overseas
countries. It’s not cheap, it’s just more affordable than them.
Having qualified for his second Olympic Games in Paris this For example, you only have to join the club as a member and
year, Samoa’s sailing champion Eroni Leilua recalls how it all you get to use any of the boats, whereas in overseas countries
started for him while growing up in the village of Vaivase Uta you have to join the club and you have to own your own
in Upolu, Samoa. boats, and boats are expensive.”
“Growing up in Samoa was awesome. I loved living in the He owes a lot to his parents.
village and learning about our roots. It was a really good “My parents had to sacrifice some funding for us to be able
family environment to have and I learnt how to sail while we to continue our strenuous international competitions. It was
were in Samoa. hard for them as well because there were four of us. So not
“I started sailing at a small club when I was just 8 years just one kid to support but the whole four of us,” says Leilua.
old. It was a nice club where everyone was very close and “We all sailed right through school. Travelling all around
very friendly. And not just me, but my siblings [Tane, Bianca New Zealand, competing in different competitions. When we
and Kirifi] learnt how to sail too,” said Leilua. reached tertiary and university education, my siblings started
“I got my first taste of international competition when I was picking up different sports like rugby and netball, but Bianca
just 9 years old. We competed in the Oceania Championships and I kept on sailing. Later on, we competed in the Pacific
against other Oceania countries like New Zealand, Australia, Games in 2011 in New Caledonia and in Samoa in 2019,” he
Cooks Islands and Fiji. added.
“It was an attractive thing for me because I like Leilua won bronze in Noumea and then a silver in Apia.
competition. And to be going against other sailors from He describes some of the technicalities of racing.
Oceania was a cool experience and made me want to do “The idea of sailing is a race around a set of marks all
more.” When he was 12, Leilua’s family moved to New around the course. The marks are positioned in such a way
Zealand in search of greener pastures. It was also where that makes it difficult for us and you can’t just sail straight to
Leilua was able to gauge the realities of his sport. it. You have to actively plan how you are going to get to the
“I did high school in west Auckland at Lynfield College. I mark. Once you get there, you plan for the next mark, and so
continued sailing but it was very different compared to the forth and so on. The first one to get around all those marks
islands. Sailing is very expensive in New Zealand and there’s a wins.
lot of different clubs. We quickly found out that sailing is not “There are stages in the courses where you have to plan
a popular sport in New Zealand and in most parts around the your route properly and be very tactical. It’s like a physical
world, mainly because of how expensive it is. game of chess. At the same time that you are physically
“Back in the islands, we were lucky that a lot of the sailing working on the boat, you have to think and plan about what’s

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