Bea Ovia

Papua New Guinean weightlifter Bea Ovia had a promising start to her career when she was named the Junior Female Athlete of the Year in 2015. Later the same year Ovia won gold in the 48kg class at the Oceania Youth Championships, which formed part of the Pacific Games in Port Moresby. At the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games she finished in 11th place in the featherweight class.

Ovia competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa. At the Youth Games she narrowly missed out on a medal after finishing in fourth place in the 48kg class. Sadly, Ovia died in April 2023 at the age of 24.