| Samoa at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships | |
|---|---|
 | |
| FINA code | SAM |
| National federation | Samoa Swimming Federation |
| in Gwangju, South Korea | |
| Competitors | 4 in 1 sport |
| Medals |
|
| World Aquatics Championships appearances | |
Samoa competed at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships in Gwangju, South Korea from 12 to 28 July.
Samoa entered two swimmers. [1]
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Brandon Schuster | 200 m individual medley | 2:06.93 | 40 | did not advance | |||
| 400 m individual medley | 4:29.84 | 32 | — | did not advance | |||
| Athlete | Event | Heat | Semifinal | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Lushavel Stickland | 50 m freestyle | 26.77 | 44 | did not advance | |||
| 100 m backstroke | 1:05.22 | 48 | did not advance | ||||
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, consisting of two main islands ; two smaller, inhabited islands ; and several smaller, uninhabited islands, including the Aleipata Islands. Samoa is located 64 km west of American Samoa, 889 km northeast of Tonga, 1,152 km northeast of Fiji, 483 km east of Wallis and Futuna, 1,151 km southeast of Tuvalu, 519 km south of Tokelau, 4,190 km southwest of Hawaii, and 610 km northwest of Niue. The capital and largest city is Apia. The Lapita people discovered and settled the Samoan Islands around 3,500 years ago. They developed a Samoan language and Samoan cultural identity.
Apia is the capital and only city of Samoa. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (itūmālō) of Tuamasaga.
The Samoan Government is generally conservative and pro-Western, with a strong interest in regional political and economic issues. Samoa participated in a first round of negotiations with its Pacific Island neighbors for a regional trade agreement in August 2000. In January 2009, Samoa opened embassies in the Republic of Korea, China and Japan.
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions and dependent territories overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indian reservations in that they are not sovereign entities. In contrast, each state has a sovereignty separate from that of the federal government and each federally recognized Native American tribe possesses limited tribal sovereignty as a "dependent sovereign nation". Territories are classified by incorporation and whether they have an "organized" government established by an organic act passed by the Congress. American territories are under American sovereignty and may be treated as part of the U.S. proper in some ways and not others. Unincorporated territories in particular are not considered to be integral parts of the U.S., and the U.S. Constitution applies only partially in those territories.
Nuufolau Joel "Joe" Seanoa, known by the ring name Samoa Joe, is an American professional wrestler, voice actor, and film and television actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former AEW TNT Champion and AEW World Champion.
The American Samoa men's national football team represents American Samoa in men's international association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body of the sport in the territory. American Samoa's home ground is the Pago Park Soccer Stadium in Pago Pago.
SusugaTuilaʻepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Saʻilele Malielegaoi is a Samoan politician and economist who served as the sixth prime minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021. Tuilaʻepa is Samoa's longest serving prime minister and was leader of the opposition from 2021 to 2022. Since 1998, he has led the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). Tuilaʻepa first entered parliament in 1981 when he won a by-election to represent the electorate of Lepā. He also served as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in the government of Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana, and also held the portfolios of Tourism and Trade, Commerce & Industry.
The Legislative Assembly, also known as the Parliament of Samoa, is the national legislature of Samoa, seated at Apia, where the country's central administration is situated. Samoan Parliament is composed of two parts: the O le Ao o le Malo and the Legislative Assembly.
The O le Ao o le Malo is the ceremonial head of state of Samoa. The position is described in Part III of the 1960 Samoan constitution.
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the South Pacific Ocean. Centered on 14.3°S 170.7°W, it is 40 miles (64 km) southeast of the island country of Samoa, east of the International Date Line and the Wallis and Futuna Islands, west of the Cook Islands, north of Tonga, and some 310 miles (500 km) south of Tokelau. American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United States, situated 2,200 miles (3,500 km) southwest of the U.S. state of Hawaii, and one of two U.S. territories south of the Equator, along with the uninhabited Jarvis Island.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people in American Samoa face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the territory in 1980, but same-sex couples may not marry. Same-sex couples married legally in other jurisdictions are recognized and must be treated equally under US federal law since 13 December 2022. American Samoa remains the only part of the United States along with select Native American tribal jurisdictions to enforce a ban on same-sex couples marrying.
Visitors to Samoa are issued a gratis 90-day Visitor's Permit on arrival unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries.
The 16th Pacific Games, also known as Apia 2019, were held from 7 to 20 July 2019. The Games were held in Apia, Samoa, returning there for the first time since 2007. It was the third time overall that the Pacific Games were held in Samoa.
Afioga Tuimalealiʻifano Vaʻaletoʻa Eti Sualauvi II is a Samoan politician who is the current O le Ao o le Malo of Samoa, in office since 2017.
Samoa competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympic Games, for four of which it competed under the name Western Samoa.
The 2019 Samoa measles outbreak began in September 2019. As of 6 January 2020, over 5,700 cases of measles and 83 deaths had been reported, out of a population of 200,874, over three per cent. The cause of the outbreak was decreased vaccination rates among newborns, from 74% in 2017 to 31–34% in 2018, even though nearby islands had rates near 99%.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Samoa is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Samoa on 18 November 2020. The country reported its second case on 27 November.