Page 40 - IB June July 2024

Sports Sports

OLYMPIANS ADVOCATE WRESTLING’S

BIG POTENTIAL IN THE PACIFIC

Point of submission: Rckaela Aquino takes down an opponent. Photo: Supplied

Three of Oceania’s five wrestling hopefuls for this month’s the Pacific if it’s given the focus and support.
Paris Olympics are women. They are torch bearers for a sport “I believe that with the right interest and support, wrestling
whose profile in the Pacific is such that in the 61-year history has the potential to be another big sport of the Pacific,” Mia
of the Pacific Games, there have only been two occasions told Islands Business, pointing to Fiji’s Rugby Sevens’ program
when wrestling was included - first in 1999 in Guam and then as an example.
in 2007 in Samoa. “The success of Fiji’s rugby sevens shows that it is possible
Still, Guam’s Mia and Rckaela Aquino and New Zealand’s to foster interest in our athletes, as well as supporting them,
Tayla Ford are hopeful their outing in Paris will impact the especially financially.”
fortunes of the sport in the region. Australian men, Georgii Their optimism about the potential for developing the
Okorokov and Jayden Lawrence, make up the rest of the sport in the Pacific belies the absence of a more competitive
Oceania representatives. approach towards the sport in their own country, despite
sporadic, one-person outings at several Olympic Games and
The Aquino sisters Youth Olympics.
The Aquino sisters of Guam, Mia and Rckaela, are trained “We have no Ministry of Sports, and the island’s culture
and coached by their father, Tony Aquino. Mia, 26, competed dismisses dreams of competing beyond high school. When
inthe 53kg women’s category in the African and Oceania most of your community is telling you, ‘You’re wasting your
Olympic Games qualification in March 2024, while Rckaela, 24, time thinking you can compete against the world’ or ‘You
took part in the 57kg women’s category in the same event, to should get a real job because what does training do for you?’,
qualify for Paris. most times, it is hard to get people to understand the need
According to the Guam Amateur Wrestling Federation, for support,” says Rckaela.
wrestling gained popularity on the island through the presence Which is why there is little interest beyond high school-level
of American soldiers. The sport is played mainly in high competition.
schools and in addition to high school wrestling teams, there “Even though there are a lot of kids who wrestle in high
are also classic wrestling clubs on Guam. school, very few choose to pursue it further. As of right now,
The Aquino sisters are adamant that wrestling can grow in there is only one club I know about that practices the Olympic

40 Islands Business, June/July 2024