Tonga at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games

Tonga at the; 1974 British Commonwealth Games
CGF code	TON
CGA	Tonga Sports Association and National Olympic Committee
Website	oceaniasport.com/tonga
in Christchurch, New Zealand
Medals	Gold0Silver0Bronze0Total0
Commonwealth Games appearances (overview)
British Commonwealth Games
	1974 ;
Commonwealth Games
	1978; 1982 ; 1986; 1990 ; 1994 ; 1998 ; 2002 ; 2006 ; 2010 ; 2014 ; 2018 ;

Last updated March 15, 2019

Tonga sent a delegation to the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch. The 1974 Games marked the Pacific kingdom's first participation in the Commonwealth Games. Tonga fielded four representatives in athletics, six in boxing and two in shooting.

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian country and archipelago comprising 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The total surface area is about 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean. The sovereign state has a population of 100,651 people, of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu.

The 1974 British Commonwealth Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were officially named "the friendly games". There were 1,276 competitors and 372 officials, according to the official history, and public attendance was excellent. The main venue was the QEII Park, purpose built for this event. The Athletics Stadium and fully covered Olympic standard pool, diving tank, and practice pools were all on the one site. The theme song was "Join Together", sung by Steve Allen. The Games were held after the 1974 Commonwealth Paraplegic Games in Dunedin for wheelchair athletes.

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. The Christchurch urban area lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula. It is home to 404,500 residents, making it New Zealand's third-most populous city behind Auckland and Wellington.

Medals and results

				Total
Tonga	0	0	0	0

Athletics

Uafu Tuineau finished last overall in the heats of the Women's 100m, with a time of 13.01 seconds.
Keta Iongi finished last overall in the heats of the Women's 100m hurdles, with a time of 15.19 seconds.
Uafu Tuineau finished last of heat 1 in the Women's 200m, with a time of 26.91 seconds, although she beat Jamaica's Rose Allwood, who failed to complete the race.
Keta Iongi finished last of heat 2 in the Women's 200m, with a time of 25.67 seconds.
Sanitesi Latu finished fifth out of thirteen in the men's decathlon, with a score of 7140 points.
Losaline Faka'ata finished twelfth out of fourteen in the women's discus throw, with a result of 34.24m.
Losaline Faka'ata finished sixteenth out of twenty in the women's shot put, with a result of 11.81m.

The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα and ἄθλος. Events are held over two consecutive days and the winners are determined by the combined performance in all. Performance is judged on a points system in each event, not by the position achieved. The decathlon is contested mainly by male athletes, while female athletes typically compete in the heptathlon.

The discus throw is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by the fifth-century-BC Myron statue, Discobolus. Although not part of the modern pentathlon, it was one of the events of the ancient Greek pentathlon, which can be dated back to at least to 708 BC, and is part of the modern decathlon.

The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy spherical object—the shot—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's competition began in 1948.

Boxing

Sanipoi Naupoto failed to qualify for the final in the men's Featherweight Division (57 kg).
Sione Pulu qualified for the finals but did not win a medal in the men's Heavyweight Division (91 kg).
Talete Moala failed to qualify for the final in the men's Light heavyweight Division (81 kg).
Solomone Namoa failed to qualify for the final in the men's Light Middleweight Division (71 kg).
Matekihilia Lui failed to qualify for the final in the men's Light Welterweight Division (63.5 kg).
Tupou Avatongo failed to qualify for the final in the men's Welterweight Division (67 kg).

Shooting

Sesimani Fenukitau finished 27th out of 29 in the Fullbore Rifle Queen's Prize- Open, with a score of 232.13 points.
Ha'angana Tau finished 29th in the same event.

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