Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | Nanumanga, Tuvalu [1] | 10 June 1999
Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [1] |
Sport | |
Sport | Track and field |
Event | Sprints |
Achievements and titles | |
Personal best(s) | 11.35s (100 m) [2] 23.66s (200 m) [3] [4] |
Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca Junior (born 10 June 1999) is a Tuvaluan sprinter. He is the son of Ratu Karalo Maibuca Senior, a Fijian, and a mother from Kioa. [5] He was selected to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics [6] and was given the honour of being the flag bearer for his nation in the opening ceremony alongside Matie Stanley. [7] In the preliminary round of the 100m he ran a Tuvaluan national record time of 11.42 seconds, but did not qualify to the next round. [8]
Maibuca represented Tuvalu at the Pacific Mini Games in Saipan where he competed in the 100m (11.76 [-2.0]) and the 200m (23.66 [-0.9]. [9]
Maibuca represented Tuvalu at the Gold Coast XXI Commonwealth Games in 2018 and the Birmingham XXII Commonwealth Games in 2022, [10] where he broke the Tuvalu national record in the 100m with a time of 11.39 [+0.6]. [11] Maibuca competed in the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, running 11.55 [0.0] in the 100 metres, [12] [13] but failed to progress past the preliminary round.
Maibuca represented Tuvalu in the 2023 Pacific Games:
Tuvalu competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. This was the nation's first ever appearance in an Olympic Game. The delegation included two track and field athletes and one weightlifter. Okilani Tinilau and Asenate Manoa participated in athletics while Logona Esau participated in the weightlifting sport. Both track and field athletes achieved national records. Logona Esau led the Tuvaluan squad as the nation's flag bearer in the parade of nations.
Tuvalu first participated in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, when a weightlifter attended the games held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tuvalu has subsequently sent teams to compete in the Commonwealth Games.
Asenate Manoa is a Tuvaluan track and field athlete who represented Tuvalu at the 2008 Summer Olympics, at the 2009 World Championships & 2011 World Championships and at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Manoa represented Tuvalu in the sport of powerlifting at the Pacific Games 2015 and won a bronze medal in the 72 kg Female category. She was the first woman to represent Tuvalu at the Olympics.
Okilani Tinilau is a Tuvaluan footballer and sprinter who represented Tuvalu at the 2008 Summer Olympics. As a footballer, Tinilau plays for F.C. Manu Laeva in the Tuvalu A-Division, also playing on the Tuvalu national football team.
Tuvalu participates in the Olympic Games in the Summer Olympics. It has yet to compete at the Winter Olympics.
Sport is an important part of Tuvaluan culture, which sporting culture is based on traditional games and athletic activities and the adoption of some of the major international sports of the modern era.
Etimoni Timuani is a Tuvaluan sportsman. He is a footballer and sprinter specializing in the 100 m distance. Timuani is a father-of-two from Funafuti who works for the Tuvalu National Provident Fund, the national pension scheme.
Tuvalu participates in the Pacific Games which is a multi-sport event with participation exclusively from countries in Oceania. Known as the South Pacific Games prior to 2009, the games are currently held every four years.
Tuvalu competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation at London marked its second appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The delegation consisted of three competitors: two short-distance runners, Tavevele Noa and Asenate Manoa, and one weightlifter, Tuau Lapua Lapua. All three qualified for the games through wildcard places because they did not meet the qualification standards. Lapua was the flag bearer for the opening ceremony while Manoa carried it at the closing ceremony. Noa and Manoa failed to advance beyond the preliminary rounds of their events although the latter established a new national record for the women's 100 metres, while Lapua placed 12th in the men's featherweight weightlifting competition.
The Tuvalu Athletics Association (TAA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Tuvalu.
The Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (TASNOC) is the Tuvaluan organization recognised as a National Olympic Committee (NOC) by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 2006, Tuvalu satisfied the IOC's criterion of a minimum five national sports federations recognised by their international sports federations, which included basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, boxing and table tennis.
Kyle Chalmers, is an Australian competitive swimmer. He is a world record holder in the short course 100 metre freestyle, 4×100 metre medley relay, and long course 4×100 metre mixed freestyle relay. He is the Oceanian and Australian record holder in the short course 50 metre butterfly and 50 metre freestyle.
Tuvalu competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. The country's participation at Rio de Janeiro marked its third consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 2008. The delegation included a single track and field athlete: sprinter Etimoni Timuani. Etimoni was also the nation's flagbearer in the Parade of Nations. He did not progress past the first round of his men's 100 metres competition.
Kristóf Milák is a Hungarian swimmer. He is the current holder of the world record in the long course 200 metre butterfly and the European record in the long course 100 metre butterfly. At his first Olympic Games, the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the 200 metre butterfly and a silver medal in the 100 metre butterfly. He has also won three gold medals and one silver at the World Aquatic Championships, as well as three gold medals at the European Aquatics Championships. He was the gold medalist in the 400 metre freestyle, 200 metre freestyle, and 200 metre butterfly events at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics.
Nicolò Martinenghi is an Italian swimmer and the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 metre breaststroke event, having won the gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. He is a two-time world record holder in the 4×50 metre medley relay, swimming breaststroke on both relays. He is the Italian record holder in the 50 metre breaststroke and 100 metre breaststroke.
Scott James Fiti is a sprinter. Born in Guam, he represented the Federated States of Micronesia at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Tuvalu competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, which were held from 23 July to 8 August 2021. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their participation marked their fourth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since their debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Tuvaluan delegation consisted of the sprinters Karalo Maibuca and Matie Stanley, both of whom were competing in their first Olympics. Neither Maibuca nor Stanley managed to progress beyond the preliminary rounds of their events, although Maibuca set a Tuvaluan national record of 11.42 seconds in the men's 100 metres.
Tuvalu competed at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, from 19 to 27 August 2023.
Tuvalu competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, from 26 July to 11 August 2024. Their participation marked their fifth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics since their debut in 2008.