Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 46

The Samoan Slammer 

Meet Joseph Kayes, the Kiwi born Samoan representing Australia at the Rio Olympics in .... wait for it .... Water Polo!   Seeing as many Samoans had their dreams shattered earlier in the week thinking Team Samoa had won a Gold Medal, we thought we'd introduce another medal contender they can put their hope in because well, hope is a beautiful thing!

5 things you should know about Joe:

#1 FAMILY - His grandparents are from Sapapali'i, Savaii in Samoa and made the move to NZ in the '60s.  His mother Dorcas is one of 8 children & married a kiwi - Paul Kayes.  Joe has 1 brother & sister.

#2  GROWING UP - He grew up in Tauranga, New Zealand and went to Mt Maunganui Intermediate & Mt Maunganui College.  He was a swimmer and surf lifesaver and first started playing Water Polo in Intermediate.  His father Paul built the pool at Bay of Plenty Polytech & also founded the Tauranga Water Polo Club in 2002.…more

Meet Tupuna Rangi 

While the world worked itself into a frenzy this week over an oiled-up Tongan Taekwon-do athlete during the opening of the Rio Olympic games;  on the other side of the world, a young Cook Islands Maori man was quietly winning a gold medal at the International Taekwon-Do Federation 2016 World Championships.

He posted these messages on his Facebook page after his win "Guess who got the Gold for the Taekwondo World Championship? Now I feel like a World Champion :) Proud to rep Aotearoa"

"1 Bronze, 2 Silver, 10 Gold medals and a Trophy.  Feels good being Grand Champion in Hawkes Bay and World Champion in England (Brighton).  Hopefully I can compete in the next World Champs in 2018 which will be held in Argentina"

Tupuna wearing his Gold Medal 

Twenty-one year old Tupuna Rangi (Rarotonga, Rakahanga) made sporting history this week when he competed in the first ever Special Needs Division of the ITF World Championships.…more

Meet our Pacific Island people representing us at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

Special mention to Team Tuvalu who has 1 person in their team - Etimoni Timuani a 100m Sprint specialist!  

Coco congrats to everybody who made it to Rio, we wish you all the best as well as our Pacific Islanders representing New Zealand and Australia in this years Olympic Games in Rio.

Lets get behind our island nations - most of them have their team pages on Social Media accounts so follow along on their progress and send them messages of encouragement too!

AMERICAN SAMOA 

COOK ISLANDS 

FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA 

FIJI 

GUAM 

KIRIBATI 

MARSHALL ISLANDS 

NAURU 

PALAU 

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SAMOA

SOLOMON ISLANDS 

 

 T

ONGA

 

 

TUVALU 

 

 

VANUATU 

 

The BNZ Crusaders have confirmed former Wallaby, Digby Ioane, has signed a 2 year contract with them & moves to join the squad next year.

Ioane who is of Samoan descent currently plays for the Honda Heat in the Japanese Top League.  He has previously played for the Western Force & Queensland Reds in Australia and represented Australia playing for the Wallabys between 2007 - 2013.  He then moved to Paris where he was signed to Stade Francais in the French domestic competition.

Ioane stated earlier about his signing “I have had a great time playing in France and Japan, but the opportunity to be part of a New Zealand Super Rugby team is too good to pass up.  I love the intensity and tempo of Super Rugby and the New Zealand teams are leading the charge in that respect at the moment, so I can’t wait to be a part of that.…more

The Samoan boxer and manditory IBF heavyweight title challenger, Joseph Parker, has taken a special moment, just before tonight's fight against Solomon Hauomona, to give a shout out to all of his Poly fans on The Coconet.tv

22 year old Winston Hill is getting ready to represent Fiji at the Olympic Games in Rio in a couple of weeks.

The Fiji/Rotuma Island boxer has been fighting for the last 3 years and makes history as one of only 2 boxers in the Pacific Islands representing their countries in boxing at the Olympics this year.  It will also be the first time in 28 years that Fiji has had a boxer fight at the Olympics and only the 6th Fijian boxer ever to make the cut!

Winston has been training in Suva at Suva Boxing and Fitness Centre which his coach Napolean Taumoepeau owns and runs.  US born Taumoepeau is half Tongan & fought as an amateur for 10 years in the States before going professional and moved to Fiji with his wife (who is from Fiji) in 2011.  His last fight was in September but he's put his own career on hold to concentrate on helping Winston get to the Olympics.…more

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc was sued on Monday by former Fijian WWE star Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka and dozens of other retired male and female wrestlers seeking to hold it responsible for neurological injuries they claimed to suffer by participating in its bouts.

The complaint was filed on behalf of more than 50 plaintiffs who have performed with WWE or its predecessors since the 1970s, including Joseph "Road Warrior Animal" Laurinaitis and Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff.

It accused Stamford, Connecticut-based WWE and Chairman Vince McMahon of intentionally classifying wrestlers as "independent contractors" rather than employees, as a means to avoid liability under applicable worker protection laws.

"WWE placed corporate gain over its wrestlers' health, safety, and financial security, choosing to leave the plaintiffs severely injured and with no recourse to treat their damaged minds and bodies," the complaint said.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as improved medical monitoring.…more

At 11-years-old, not many can boast of a number 2 world ranking in anything - except Samoan-Tokelauan “Rhyme the Rage” Loto.

With 32 amateur fights under his belt, he’s one of the most experienced fighters in the New Zealand Black Gloves team who are off to compete in the 2016 World Youth Muaythai Championships, next month in Thailand.

Around this time last year he picked up the Silver Medal at the 2015 World Championships after a last minute gruelling shredding journey to qualify for the 42kg division.

“I’m going to go back and get Gold this time.” said Rhyme, quiet but confident.

A very calm response after his father (also his trainer) explained the intense shredding regime which Rhyme had to go through, after finding out his 45kg division class had been cancelled when he arrived in Thailand to compete last year.

With Rhyme weighing in at 46kg upon arrival, Ermehn Loto said they had no choice but to go up or down to the next divisions.…more

Mark Hunt wants some answers ... or else.

Upon hearing the news that Brock Lesnar, who defeated Hunt via unanimous decision at UFC 200 last week, had been notified by USADA of a potential anti-doping violation, stemming from a failure of an out-of-competition drug test on June 28, Hunt asked UFC officials for half of Lesnar's purse or else he would like to be released from his contract effective immediately. Hunt said the UFC has not yet responded to his request.

"The cheaters get a slap on the wrist and walk off," Hunt told MMA Fighting. "What penalty or deterrent is there to make them think twice? Nothing. And the [Nevada Athletic Commission], why should these [expletive] get anything? They are not the ones who had to fight with Lesnar or lose [to him].…more

The Miami Heat are finalizing a flurry of weekend moves to restock the roster in the stinging aftermath of franchise icon Dwyane Wade's free-agency departure to the Chicago Bulls.

The Heat on Sunday reached a deal to re-sign veteran forward Udonis Haslem, according to a league source, and announced the signings of shooting guard Wayne Ellington and forward James Johnson.

James Johnson is of African-American and Samoan decent, joining the likes of Steven Adams as the growing number of poly players in the NBA.

James Johnson was the starting power forward for the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest University from 2007 to 2009. He was drafted 16th overall in the 2009 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. Since then Johnson has gained experience in playing with the Raptors, Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies and back again with the Toronto Raptors before being signed by the Heat.

NBA isnt the only sport Johnson shines in, he holds a second-degree black belt and fought in his first mixed martial arts bout at aged 18.…more