Elis Lapenmal (born 6 September 1987 in Malakula) is a

Ni-Vanuatu Ni-Vanuatu (informally abbreviated Ni-Van) is a large group of closely related Melanesian ethnic groups native to the island country of Vanuatu. As such, ''Ni-Vanuatu'' are a mixed ethnolinguistic group with a shared ethnogenesis that speak a m ...

sprinter. Competing at the

World Athletics Championships The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the ...

in 2007, Lapenmal ran the 100 metres in 13.10 seconds. She won a silver medal at the

South Pacific Mini Games The Pacific Mini Games is a continental multi-sport event contested by countries and territories located in Oceania. The event has been held every four years since the inaugural games in Honiara, Solomon Islands in 1981. It was known as the Sout ...

, and qualified as a "

wildcard Wild card most commonly refers to: * Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games * Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...

entry" to represent Vanuatu in the 100 metres event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Prior to the Beijing Games, the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' described her, along with

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

Hamza Abdu Hamse Ziyad Abdouh (or Hamza Abdu, ar, حمزة عبده) (born January 1, 1991

, as one of the Games' "underdogs", and as such she has also been described as a "potential successor to (Eric) Moussambani"."Lovable losers - the Olympic ideal or waste of space"
, AFP, July 6, 2008 In her first round heat in

she placed eighth and last in a time of 13.31 which was not enough to advance to the second round.Athlete biography: Elis Lapenmal
, beijing2008.cn, ret: Aug 27, 2008

References

*
Biography
on the website of the Beijing Olympics

External links

* 1987 births Living people Vanuatuan female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Vanuatu People from Malampa Province Olympic female sprinters {{Vanuatu-athletics-bio-stub