Six Australian Olympic quotas in the first day of the finals at the Pacific Games

The Australians dominated the first part of the finals at the Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands earning six Olympic quotas for Paris 2024. Samoa’s Ato Plodzicki Faoagali bagged the seventh quota and he qualified for his second Olympics after Tokyo.

Altogether 39 female and 107 male boxers are competing for the 25 titles in this multisport events which hosts every four years.

American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, North Caledonia, Niue, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu are participating at the Pacific Games in Honiara.

All of the six women’s and seven men’s weight categories will be competing for their Olympic spots in the Pacific Games where the only the winners will receive their rights to qualify for Paris 2024.

Samoa’s Ato Plodzicki Faoagali earned silver medals at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games and he was Olympian in Tokyo. The Samoan heavyweight (92kg) boxer defeated his main rival, Australia’s Adrian Paoletti in the final and he became one of the heroes of the fifth competition day.

Australia’s Marissa Williamson is a 21-year-old talent at the welterweight (66kg) who defeated New Zealand’s Cara Wharerau after the first tactical round with impressive combinations in Honiara.

Australia’s best female boxer, the former Youth Olympics silver medallist Caitlin Parker delivered her best performance in the final against New Zealand’s Deanne Read and she qualified for her second Olympic Games.

Charlie Senior (57kg) and Callum Peters (80kg) are both from the next generations of boxers from Australia who had the full concentration to beat their opponents from Papua New Guinea and Tonga to earn quotas for Paris.