“Pacific Strongest is about more than lifting weights. It’s about honouring our culture, strengthening our people, and bringing the Pacific together – united in strength.”– Misa Peter Anae, Co-founder, Pacific Strongest.
An insane battle of pure grit, power and island pride will take over Apia this weekend as the Pacific Strongest 2026 kicks off in beautiful Samoa.
The two-day competition will take place behind the Central Bank of Samoa on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th June. Spearheaded by co-founder and President of Strongman Samoa Misa Peter Anae, the free family-friendly event will unite some of the Pacific’s strongest male and female athletes.
“There is a real sense of excitement building around the event,” Misa says.
“Our athletes have been training for months and are eager to showcase their hard work.”
Misa co-founded Strongman Samoa in 2023 after witnessing the rapid growth of the sport through competitions like Samoa’s Mightiest Heroes and the Big Chief Showdown.
It was this growing interest that inspired the creation of Pacific Strongest 2025 where he extended the invitation to international athletes to compete with Samoa’s homegrown talent.
“Pacific Strongest was created to give Samoa and the Pacific a world-class strongman competition that showcases the incredible strength, culture, and talent that already exists in our region,” Misa says.
Last year’s event marked the first ever international strongman competition to be held in Samoa. Due to its tremendous success, the power-fuelled competition returns for another year with increased sponsorship and interest from athletes in New Zealand, Australia and American Samoa. This growth in visibility has also captured the interests of businesses to invest in sport, health, tourism and youth development through Pacific Strongest.
But for Misa, it’s the local competitors that are at the heart of it all.
“We want Pacific Strongest to be more than just a competition. For local athletes, it provides exposure to international standards of competition and an opportunity to test themselves against some of the region’s strongest athletes,” Misa says.
The success of last year’s event saw an increase in interest from young local athletes. Misa says he’s noticing a lot of them are coming in “stronger, more athletic and more knowledgeable about training than ever before.”
He also emphasises the importance of having local athletes compete on a major stage in Samoa as it allows the youth to see themselves reflected on a bigger platform.
“It gives young people role models they can relate to,” he says.
“When people see someone from their own village, school or community competing at this level, it inspires them to believe they can do it too. That’s how sports continue to grow.”
Pacific Strongest 2026 will see athletes compete in six brutal tests of strength. The first day will start off with keg load, duck walk and sled drag, and seated sled pull. The second day will push their limits further with axle lifts, rising bar max lift, and atlas stone load.
Competitors representing Samoa consist of a strong lineup of returning veterans and new challengers. One of those returning to defend her crown is last year’s Open Women’s Champion Malu Evangeline Taylor-Pati.
Malu says her most memorable moment from last year’s event was pulling a Samoan bus for the first time in front of the clock tower.
“I mean not many people can say they’ve done that and I achieved all the goals that I had set for myself including a personal PR of 100kgs on the log clean and press,” she says.
“I walked away with the win but all those little moments of personal achievements with my team mates really made it for me.”
Malu says it was Misa that introduced her to strongman/strongwoman in 2023. A year later, she competed competitively and has since won gold in all four competitions she has participated in. But despite the medals and the podium finishes, staying grounded and rooted in her love for the sport remains her driving force.
“This year’s focus for me will definitely be to enjoy the process and have fun along the way,” Malu says.
“I miss the joy of competitive sport because sometimes we can get caught up with numbers and figures that we forget why we’re all doing it in the first place.”
This perspective extends beyond the competition itself. While strongman remains a male dominated sport, Malu sees her presence on the platform as an opportunity to challenge perceptions of strength and femininity.
“I really do hope that more females realise that they can not only be graceful in their femininity but also graceful in their strength,” she says.
“Strength is not only masculine and Pacific women have been demonstrating this for centuries, often embracing both the beauty and the beast.”
As the athletes prepare for a brutal awakening this weekend, Misa says he’s looking forward to seeing the camaraderie and competitive spirit between the athletes.
Rooted in their slogan, ‘United in Strength’, this year’s event will showcase that strongman is not just a competition of heavy lifting, but a platform of cultural pride, community, and unity.
“Pacific Strongest is about more than lifting weights,” Misa says.
“It’s about honoring our culture, strengthening our people, and bringing the Pacific together – united in strength.”
Ultimately, Pacific Strongest envisions a future where the Pacific is globally recognised as a destination for world-class strength sports, with local athletes and community at the centre of its success.
“We want young people to see strength sports as a pathway to confidence, discipline, healthy living and personal achievement,” Misa says.
“We want to build a foundation where Pacific athletes no longer need to leave the region to compete at a high level – the Pacific can become a destination where world-class strength sport thrives.”
