| Winzar Kakiouea | |
| Birth Name: | Winzar Jedidiah Shadrack Kakiouea |
| Birth Date: | 30 April 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Nauru |
| Height Cm: | 174 |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | 100 metres |
Winzar Jedidiah Shadrack Kakiouea[1] (born 30 April 2001) is a Nauruan sprinter. He qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics and was the only Nauruan selected.
Kakiouea was born on 30 April 2001 in Nauru.[2] [3] He is of the Iruwa tribe.[4] Nauru, with a population of around 10,000, is the world's third-smallest country and does not have a single racetrack, only what Kakiouea called a "dirt oval".[5] [6] He grew up in the country and won a national powerlifting competition, also being one of Nauru's top Australian rules football players, although he told The New York Times his accomplishments were "not so impressive. Nauru is very small."[6] Outside of sport, he works as a telecom cable repairman.[6]
Kakiouea competed at the 2018 Melanesian Championships in Athletics, placing fifth in the 100 metres, and won a silver medal at the 2018 Micronesian Games in the 4 × 100 metres relay.[2] [7] He also participated in the 100 metres at the 2019 Oceania Athletics Championships, placing fourth.[2] He holds the national record in the event and began training regularly in 2021; The New York Times noted that:
Kakiouea was selected to compete in the 100m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, where he was the sole Nauruan participating and served as the nation's flag bearer.[8] Later that year, he competed at the Pacific Games in three events, winning a bronze medal in the 100m.[2] In March 2024, he competed in the 60 metres at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow; he trained in Australia to prepare for the competition, purchasing his only pair of running shoes, pink Nike cleats, for 240 Australian dollars.[6] [9]
In June 2024, Kakiouea participated at the 2024 Micronesian Games and won four medals – three gold and one bronze.[7] There, he achieved his personal best in the 100m while winning gold, with a time of 10.82 seconds.[10] The following month, he received a universality selection to compete for Nauru at the 2024 Summer Olympics, being the only Nauruan chosen.[6] [11] At the time, he had a world ranking of 3,701.[12] As the only Nauruan at the games, he served as the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony, joined by his coach and two team officials.[6] He finished sixth in his heat in the men's 100 metres with a time of 11.15s and did not advance.[13]