| Ajah Pritchard-Lolo | |
| Birth Date: | 10 August 2002 |
| Height: | 189 cm |
| Weight: | 85 kg |
| Sport: | Weightlifting |
| Weight Class: | 81 kg |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
Ajah Pritchard-Lolo (born 10 August 2002)[1] [2] is a Ni-Vanuatu weightlifter. She qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Pritchard-Lolo was born on 10 August 2002 and grew up in Vanuatu.[2] Her father was born in New Zealand, of Samoan descent, and her mother is of Samoan, Dutch, and French descent.[3] She has one sibling.[3] She attended school at JMG Lycée Francais until 16 and then attended Queen Margaret College, Wellington, in New Zealand, before returning to Vanuatu in 2021.[3]
Pritchard-Lolo competed in CrossFit events and is a qualified CrossFit coach.[3] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she began competing in weightlifting, while in New Zealand.[4] She continued weightlifting upon her return to Vanuatu, with the help of her mother, who opened a weightlifting club and later became the president of the Vanuatu Weightlifting Federation.[4]
In 2022, Pritchard-Lolo was selected to compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games on a bipartite invitation, competing in the 87 kg event, where she finished eighth.[5] [6] She attended the Oceania Weightlifting Federation Training Camp in March 2023.[7] Her 2023 season included appearances at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships in Saudi Arabia, the U23 Junior & Youth Oceania Weightlifting Championships in Apia, and the 2023 Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands, where she won four medals: three silver and a bronze in the snatch, clean & jerk, and total events.[8] She competed at the North Island Weightlifting Championships in Auckland, New Zealand, in June 2024, and later that month received a universality selection to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 81 kg category, becoming the first-ever Olympic weightlifter for Vanuatu.[8] [9] [10]