Fiji swimmers strike gold early at Oceania Championships

Fiji’s swimmers have wasted no time making home advantage count, dominating the opening days of the 14th annual Oceania Swimming Championships with a string of podium finishes.

The six-day competition has brought together 181 swimmers from 18 nations, but it is Team Fiji who have set the pace early at the National Aquatic Centre in Suva.

By the end of the weekend, the hosts were already on the podium several times with standout performances across both individual and relay events.

One of the brightest stars so far has been Anahira McCutcheon, who claimed two gold medals in both the women’s 50 metre butterfly and 100m freestyle.

Speaking to Fiji Times after her freestyle win, McCutcheon said she focused on improving her finish after earlier races.

“Going into this final, I think my main focus was to pick up the pace from this morning [heat race] until the end,” the 16-year-old said.

From left: Hansel McCaig, Anahira McCutcheon and David “Tolu” Young featured in an Instagram story.

“I mainly focused on working really hard on my back end for the 100s. Because before my 100s were not as great as my 50s, so I wanted to work on that to make sure my back ends were nice and easy.”

McCutcheon was also part of Fiji’s gold-medal-winning mixed 4x50m relay team, which delivered one of the standout moments of the meet.

The quartet, McCutcheon, Samuel Yalimaiwai, Young, and Grace Khelan, powered home in a new Oceania record time of 1:48.59 to finish ahead of Australia and New Zealand.

McCutcheon led off on backstroke before Yalimaiwai took the breaststroke leg. Young then surged through the butterfly before Khelan brought the team home in freestyle.

Young also made his mark in the individual events, winning Fiji’s first gold of the championships in the men’s 50m butterfly.

The race was one of the most competitive of the meet, with swimmers from seven nations packed across eight lanes.

Speaking ahead of the competition, Young told Fiji One News he was “confident with Team Fiji and our performances”.

He backed that confidence in the pool, delivering under pressure to secure top spot on the podium again with gold in the Men’s 100m freestyle on Sunday.

Fiji’s strong start placed them among the standout Pacific nations, alongside medals from the Cook Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, and Sāmoa.

The championships also serve as a key stepping stone towards bigger international targets including selection opportunities ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

For more information on the 2026 Swimming Oceania Championships, including additional results from the weekend, click here.