Swimmer Olivia Borg wins Samoas first Gold in Sol2023 Pacific Games

21 November 2023: Samoa’s Olivia Borg stunned the New Caledonians in the Women’s 100m butterfly, claiming gold with a time of 1:01.54 in the 2023 Pacific Games now in progress in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

The 22 year old edged out New Caledonia’s Lillie Freulon (1:01.93) by 39 milliseconds to settle for silver. Malou Douillard (1:03.13) from New Caledonia also made the podium, claiming bronze.

“This is my first Pacific Games so to come out of my first event with a gold is something to remember for a long time,” Borg told the Pacific Games News Service.

“I came into the competition honestly to have fun, and winning the gold medal is beyond what I thought, which makes it even more worth it. It was also nice to have all the Samoans here from different sports who were supporting, I honestly love it because it’s nice to have your culture behind you supporting you and cheering you on.”

Olivia Borg last represented Samoa in last year’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games where she made it to the semifinals.