Team Cook Islands Impress at Oceania Swimming Championships in Fiji

Team Cook Islands delivered an outstanding performance at the 14th Oceania Swimming Championships in Fiji, combining medal success, national records and an increasing presence in championship finals.

The team reached the podium every day of competition, finishing with an impressive tally of four gold, one silver and three bronze medals. The Cook Islands national anthem rang out across the venue four times during the championships, proud moments in front of a strong regional field of more than 160 swimmers and a stand full of enthusiastic crowds.

Beyond the medals, the team leaves Fiji with something equally valuable. Confidence, experience and motivation.

Lanihei Connolly

At just 20 years old, Lanihei Connolly emerged as one of the stars of the championships, producing a remarkable series of swims across multiple events.

Connolly opened her campaign on Day 1 in the Women's 50m Butterfly, finishing sixth in the final with a time of 28.33 after setting a new Cook Islands national record in the heats.

After the race Lanihei reflected "It was a good atmosphere, nice and loud crowd. I was a little bit slower than this morning, but still under in my entry time, so still a PB second fastest"

She quickly carried that momentum into Day 2, claiming bronze in the 100m Breaststroke in 1:09.74.

Her consistency continued on Day 3, where she again reached the podium with bronze in the 100m Breaststroke with another personal best performance, while also placing seventh in the 200m Individual Medley.

Connolly's championships reached new heights on the final day. She secured gold in the 50m Breaststroke before delivering one of the most impressive swims of the meet in the 200m Breaststroke. Her time of 2:31.70 earned another gold medal for Cook Islands and saw her slash an extraordinary 6.7 seconds off her personal best.

Across the meet, Connolly's performances highlighted her versatility and established her as a leading figure in Cook Islands swimming.

Mia Laban

Mia began strongly on Day 1, placing sixth in the Women's 100m Backstroke Final with a personal best of 1:07.51. She backed this up with another sixth-place finish in the 200m Butterfly, showing her range across sprint and middle-distance events.

Laban continued to build momentum through the week. She finished fifth in the 50m Backstroke Final and delivered a standout performance in the 100m Butterfly, placing fifth with a personal best of 1:04.32.

In the 50m Freestyle, Laban recorded another personal best of 27.36, finishing tenth overall, before closing her championships with a strong swim in the B final where she placed second.

Her performances reflect continued development across multiple disciplines while consistently competing at finals level.

Brendan Makira

Brendan Makira showed steady development across the championships, highlighted by a series of personal best performances and strong finals appearances.

He recorded personal bests in both the Men's 100m and 50m Backstroke events, with a time of 1:05.22 in the 100m Backstroke and 30.37 in the 50m Backstroke. Makira also competed in the 50m Breaststroke clocking 34.58, and progressed through to the final in the 200m Backstroke, coming 8th with 2:21.46.

In the 200m Individual Medley, Makira produced another personal best, finishing 12th in the B final.

Across the competition, he has demonstrated continued improvement and takes home valuable international racing experience.

Carter Makira

Makira featured prominently in the backstroke events, recording a personal best of 1:02.20 in the 100m Backstroke to place 11th overall. Reflecting on his preparation, he said, "Two weeks ago I had nationals in Australia, so I was just kind of aiming to go near that time."

He also progressed to the final of the 50m Backstroke, finishing in 29.35 after setting a personal best in the heats. In the 200m Backstroke, Makira delivered one of his strongest swims of the meet, placing sixth in the final with a time of 2:15.62. He further demonstrated his versatility in the 200m Individual Medley, finishing 6th in 2:15.16.

Makira's breaststroke performances were another highlight. He recorded a personal best of 31.07 in the 50m Breaststroke and competed in the 100m Breaststroke B final in 1:08.61.

Describing his race approach, he said, "I was just thinking of getting to the wall as fast as I can and finishing strong, making sure I didn't spin too much and still hold my technique." He added that continued improvement remains his key motivation, saying, "Getting faster motivates me in training to try harder and get faster times."

On the final day of the Championship, Carter took to the Open Water 5km race in the Pacific Harbour.

Alicia Story

Alicia Story delivered a strong and consistent campaign, highlighted by a medal-winning performance and multiple personal best swims.

She claimed bronze in the Women's 200m Butterfly with a time of 2:27.94, a swim that also established a new Cook Islands national record and marked one of the standout moments of the championships. "I was just focusing on my technique, trying to keep my hips up, and trying to reach my arms out forward like my coach said."

"Representing my nation means everything to me, especially coming to a competition with these big countries like Australia and New Zealand, and to be able to medal for my country and show them just how grateful I am to be able to swim for them, hopefully I made them proud tonight with that race."

Story also recorded a personal best of 28.87 in the 50m Butterfly and another PB in the 50m Backstroke, finishing 11th in 32.22.

In the 100m Butterfly, she reached the final and placed eighth with a time of 1:05.52, while in the 200m Individual Medley she continued her strong form with a ninth-place finish and another personal best.

Jacob Story

Jacob Story was one of the dominant performers of the championships, delivering multiple medals and record-breaking swims.

He opened his campaign with bronze in the Men's 50m Butterfly, touching in 24.95 to make a national record performance.

"I had a solid heat swim this morning so I knew I was going to win. Coming into the final I just wanted to work on what I did this morning and perfect the race so I could swim a bit faster tonight and I think I managed to do that."

He then went on to claim gold in the 100m Backstroke, setting a championship record with a personal best of 1:01.81.

Story added a silver medal in the 50m Breaststroke with a personal best of 28.82, before finishing his meet with a gold in the 200m Breaststroke.

His outstanding performances across the competition earned him the prestigious Roger Smith Award as the best male athlete of the championships.

Story's results not only contributed significantly to the team's medal tally but also highlighted his standing as one of the region's top swimmers.

Relays

On Day 1, the team of Mia Laban, Lanihei Connolly, Carter Makira and Jacob Story combined in the Mixed 200m Freestyle Relay to finish fifth in the final with a time of 1:42.63.

On Day 2, the Cook Islands continued their relay momentum in the Mixed 200m Medley Relay. The combination of Jacob Story, Lanihei Connolly, Alicia Story and Carter Makira progressed through to the final, where they placed seventh overall.

Standout performances from Lanihei Connolly and Jacob Story led the way with gold medal swims and record-breaking results, while Alicia Story added to the medal tally and demonstrated impressive consistency across multiple events. Mia Laban and both Carter and Brendan Makira contributed strongly to the team's depth, progressing through to finals and delivering a series of personal best performances.

Athletes advanced through heats into finals across a wide range of events, while the relay teams combined effectively to showcase growing cohesion and confidence. Well done Team Cook Islands.

Thank you to Oceania Aquatics and World Aquatics continental support funding a new generation of Pacific Island reporters during these Championships, with eight trainees from Fiji and Samoa swimming federations working alongside The Reporters' Academy to develop their skills, capture athlete stories, and share the voices of Pacific swimmers with a global audience. Photo credit to Andrea Schuster.