1991 South Pacific Games
The 1991 South Pacific Games, held from 7–21 September 1991 at Port Moresby and Lae in Papua New Guinea, was the ninth edition of the South Pacific Games. This was the first time that events at one games had been held in two cities. The decision to do so was to allow both locations to benefit from the construction of new facilities.[1]
 | |
| Host city | Port Moresby and Lae |
|---|---|
| Country | Papua New Guinea |
| Nations | 16 |
| Athletes | 2,000+ a |
| Events | 17 sports 164 medal events |
| Opening | September 7, 1991 |
| Closing | September 21, 1991 |
| Opened by | The Duke of York |
Host nation Papua New Guinea topped the medal table for the first time at a South Pacific Games with a total of 100 medals won.[2]
Participating countries
Sixteen Pacific nations participated in the Games:[2]
Sports
17 sports were contested at the 1991 South Pacific Games:[1]
Athletics (41) ()
Basketball (2) () b
Boxing (12)
Cricket (1)
Football (1) ()
Golf (4)
Bowls (10)
Netball (1) ()
Rugby union (1) ()
Sailing (8)
Softball (2)
Squash (4) c
Swimming (32) d
Table tennis (7)
Tennis (7)_pictogram.svg.png.webp)
Volleyball (2)
Weightlifting (30)
Note: A number in parentheses indicates how many medal events were contested in that sport (where known).
Final medal table
Medals were awarded in a total of 164 events:[2]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Papua New Guinea (PNG) | 44 | 29 | 27 | 100 |
| 2 |  French Polynesia (PYF) | 30 | 24 | 26 | 80 |
| 3 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} New Caledonia (NCL) | 29 | 29 | 27 | 85 |
| 4 |  Western Samoa (WSM) | 19 | 13 | 6 | 38 |
| 5 |  Fiji (FIJ) | 13 | 30 | 23 | 66 |
| 6 |  Guam (GUM) | 10 | 11 | 16 | 37 |
| 7 |  American Samoa (ASA) | 9 | 6 | 8 | 23 |
| 8 |  Tonga (TON) | 3 | 2 | 10 | 15 |
| 9 |  Vanuatu (VAN) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 10 |  Nauru (NRU) | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
| 11 |  Cook Islands (COK) | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| 12 |  Wallis and Futuna (WLF) | 0 | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| 13 |  Solomon Islands (SOL) | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 14 |  Norfolk Island (NFI) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals (14 entries) | 164 | 164 | 170 | 498 | |
Notes
^a More than 2,000 athletes took part in the 1991 Games, which had more athletes and competitions than Auckland's 1990 Commonwealth Games.[3]
^b Western Samoa initially took the men's basketball gold medal but the team was disqualified after a citizenship controversy, in which players were deemed ineligible.[4]
^c Squash: There were individual and team events for men and women. PNG won all four gold medals.[5] The South Pacific Games Council had announced in 1978 that squash would be included in the Games, and it was played in 1979, 1983, 1987, and 1991.[6]
^d Swimming: French Polynesia's 14-year-old star Daine Lacombe won five gold medals in the pool.[7]
References
- Wightman, Brian (1992). "Ninth South Pacific Games in Port Moresby" (PDF 0.4 MB). Olympic Information Cente. pp. 50–53. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- "South Pacific Games 1991". Pacific Games Council. 8 March 2007. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- "Half-naked maidens shield prince". The Canberra Times. 8 September 1991. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- "W. Samoans barred for using recent imports". The Canberra Times. 3 June 1993. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- SPG Results 1991, p. 10.
- "...that in 1978 Squash was included for the FIRST time". Squash Fiji. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
- "PNG leads medal tally as records tumble". The Canberra Times. 15 September 1973. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
Sources
- 1991 South Pacific Games Results. Oceania Sport Information Centre (Report). Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.