Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. The country was represented by a total of six athletes. The country's flagbearer

2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers

During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag...

 during the Games' opening ceremony

2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony

The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 pm China Standard Time on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese culture...

 was weightlifter Ele Opeloge

Ele Opeloge

Ele Opeloge is a Samoan weightlifter competing in the Women's +75 kg category.-Family:Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family...

.

Archery

Samoa sent an archer to the Olympics for the first time. Joseph Walter earned the country its first Olympic archery qualifying spot

Archery at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Qualification

The athlete quota for archery is 128 athletes, 64 men and 64 women. There is a maximum of six athletes per National Olympic Committee, three per gender. NOC's with three athletes of the same gender automatically qualify for the team competition. Athletes can not qualify themselves directly into...

, in the men's competition, by placing second in the 2008 Oceanian championship.

Men

Athlete	Event	Ranking Round		Round of 64	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Score	Seed	OppositionScore	OppositionScore	OppositionScore	OppositionScore	OppositionScore	OppositionScore	Rank
Joseph Walter	Individual Archery at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's individual The following new world and Olympic records were set during this competition.-Ranking Round:-Finals:-Section 1:-Section 2:-Section 3:-Section 4:-Details:- External links :* *...	563	64	(1) L 88 - 116	Did not advance

Athletics

Aunese Curreen set a national record in the men's 800 metres, with a time of 1:47:45.

Event	Athletes	Qualifiers/Heat		Semifinal		Final
		Result	Position	Result	Position	Result	Position
Men's 800m Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's 800 metres -Results:All times shown are in seconds. The following abbreviations are used:* Q denotes qualification by place* q denotes qualification by time* DNS denotes did not start* DNF denotes did not finish* DQ denotes disqualification...	Aunese Curreen	1:47.45	29	Did not advance
Women's javelin Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's javelin throw -Qualifying round:Qualification: Qualifying Performance 61.50 or at least 12 best performers advance to the Final.Q - Qualified by right / SB - Season Best / NR - National Record/ NM - No Mark / q - Qualified by result-Final:21 August 2008 - 19:20...	Serafina Akeli	49,26	49	Did not advance

Boxing

Samoa qualified one boxer for the Olympic boxing tournament. Satupaitea Farani Tavui

Satupaitea Farani Tavui

Satupaitea Farani Tavui is an amateur boxer from Samoa who won the Oceania title in the light-heavyweight division in 2007 and 2008, thereby qualifying for the 2008 Olympics....

 earned Oceania's qualifying spot in the light heavyweight class by winning the Oceanian continental qualifying tournament.

Tavui lost his first match against Croatia's Marijo Šivolija

Marijo Šivolija

Marijo Šivolija-Jelica is a Croatian amateur boxer best known to medal repeatedly in international competition at light heavyweight.-Career:In 2003 he won a silver medal at the European Championships....

, being eliminated by knockout. He had to be taken to hospital.

Athlete	Event	Round of 32	Round of 16	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Final
		Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result	Opposition Result
Satupaitea Farani Tavui Satupaitea Farani Tavui Satupaitea Farani Tavui is an amateur boxer from Samoa who won the Oceania title in the light-heavyweight division in 2007 and 2008, thereby qualifying for the 2008 Olympics....	Light heavyweight	Marijo Sivolija-Jelica Referee Stopped Contest	Did not advance

Canoeing

Flatwater

Men

Athlete	Event	Heats		Semifinals		Final
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Rudolph Berking-Williams Rudolph Berking-Williams Rudolph Berking-Williams is a Samoan sprint canoer.He represented Samoa at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the K-1 500 m and K-1 1000 m events. He qualified for the semi-finals in the K-1 1000 m with a time of 4:00.784 and for the semi-finals in the K-1 500 m event with a time of 1:47.839....	K-1 500 m	1:47.839	8 QS	Did Not Start		Did not advance
	K-1 1000 m	4:00.784	7 QS	4:04.658	9	Did not advance

Swimming

17-year-old Emma Hunter

Emma Hunter

Emma Hunter is a Samoan New Zealander swimmer. Born in Samoa, she now lives in Auckland, New Zealand.-Biography:In 2008, she was to become Samoa's first-ever female Olympic swimmer, by representing Samoa in freestyle and butterfly events at the Beijing...

, a Samoan New Zealander

Samoan New Zealander

Samoan New Zealanders are Samoan immigrants in New Zealand, their descendants, and New Zealanders of Samoan ethnic descent. They constitute one of New Zealand's most sizeable ethnic minorities...

, will be the first woman to swim for Samoa at any Olympic Games. She will compete in freestyle and butterfly events.

Weightlifting

Women

Athlete	Event	Snatch		Clean & Jerk		Total	Rank
		Result	Rank	Result	Rank
Ele Opeloge Ele Opeloge Ele Opeloge is a Samoan weightlifter competing in the Women's +75 kg category.-Family:Opeloge comes from a weightlifting family...	+75 kg Weightlifting at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's +75 kg The women's +75 kg weightlifting event was the heaviest women's event at the weightlifting competition, allowing competitors with over 75 kilograms of body mass. The competition took place on August 16, starting at 19:00....	119.0	4	150.0	3	269.0	4