Sam Nunuke Pera (born 4 April 1969 in

Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest and most populous of the Cook Islands. The island is volcanic, with an area of , and is home to almost 75% of the country's population, with 10,898 of a total population of 15,040. The Parliament of the Cook Islands, Coo ...

) is a retired Cook Islands

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

. He represented the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

in three editions of the Olympic Games (1992, 1996, and 2004), and has been named the nation's sportsman of the year five times. Pera is also the father of Sam Pera, Jr., who later competed in the same weightlifting division at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. Pera made his official debut in the men's first heavyweight class (100 kg) at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, where he failed to lift 105 kg for three successive attempts in the single-motion snatch. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Pera recovered from a setback with a twenty-fourth-place finish in the men's 99 kg class, lifting a total of 285 kg (120 in the snatch and 165 in the clean and jerk). Following his mediocre performances in weightlifting, he was forced to retire immediately from the sport in the same year. Pera returned from a long absence to compete at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, where he finished fifth in the same division with a total haul of 277 kg. At the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Pera qualified for his third Cook Islands squad, as a 35-year-old, in the men's heavyweight class (105 kg) by receiving a continental berth from the Oceanian Weightlifting Championships. He successfully lifted 135 kg in the single-motion snatch, and hoisted 170 kg in the two-part, shoulder-to-overhead

clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without rest ...

to deliver a fourteenth-place finish in a field of twenty-two weightlifters with a total of 305 kg.

References

External links

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Melbourne 2006 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pera, Sam Nunuke 1969 births Living people Cook Island male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for the Cook Islands Weightlifters at the 1992 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1996 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2004 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2006 Commonwealth Games People from Rarotonga Commonwealth Games competitors for the Cook Islands 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen