Tonga’s emerging para-athletes have recorded personal best performances at the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin, Australia, marking an encouraging step in the country’s growing presence in international para sport.
The Tonga National Paralympic Committee said athletes ‘Etuini Tolu and Penisimani Sakalia produced strong performances on the opening day of competition, setting personal bests in the 100 metres, long jump and javelin.
The pair travelled to Australia with coach Siueni Filimone after departing Tonga earlier this month to compete at the regional championships.
Before the competition, the team took part in classification activities and a high-performance athletics camp in Darwin, designed to prepare athletes for international competition.
Official entry lists show Tolu competing in the T43 para classification and Sakalia in the T64 classification, highlighting Tonga’s continued participation in regional para-athletics.
The Oceania Athletics Championships, held from 18 to 23 May, feature more than 800 competitors across senior, junior, masters and para divisions from 20 Oceania member federations.
The event also serves as an important qualification pathway for major international competitions, including the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games and future World Athletics championships.
The camp brought together able-bodied and para-athletes from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu in a shared training environment focused on coaching, athlete education and competition readiness. It was delivered by Commonwealth Sport and Griffith University with support from PacificAus Sports.
The Tonga National Paralympic Committee has highlighted the achievements as another milestone in the development of para sport in the Kingdom. Last month, ‘Etuini and Penisimani competed at the 99th Annual Inter-Collegiate Athletics Sports at Teufaiva Stadium before earning selection for the regional championships.
The committee says the athletes’ performances demonstrate the progress being made by Tonga’s para-athletes as they continue to gain valuable international experience and pursue higher levels of competition.
Source: Talanoa O Tonga
