HONIARA, Solomon Islands - Former SWCC track & field student-athlete Benjamin Aliel won two gold medals this week at the Sol2023 Pacific Games.

The Pacific Games is held every four years and is a multi-sport competition among countries in the Oceania region, contesting Olympic sports. Aliel, a 2021 graduate of Southwestern Community College, had previously won a Pacific Games gold medal in the men's 4x400 relay in 2019.

On Wednesday night in Solomon Islands, Aliel led a medal stand sweep in the men's 400 meter dash for Papua New Guinea. Aliel won the gold medal by just .04 seconds over fellow countryman Daniel Baul with his time of 47.17 seconds, with Emmanuel Wanga completing the sweep in third at 48.43. Aliel had posted the fastest time in Tuesday's preliminary heats at 48.23 seconds.

In a reel posted to Instagram by Oceania Athletics Association, Aliel can be seen celebrating moments after his victory. It was a proud moment for Aliel, who had switched from track & field to rugby since his graduation from Southwestern.

"It has been a long time (coming). I left the sport for two years and it's my first time to come back again," Aliel said in a post-race interview with Pacific Games News Service. "This is my first international race again and I'm proud of my mates for pushing me in training."

Aliel followed his individual gold by helping his PNG teammates repeat as Pacific Games gold medalists in the men's 4x400 relay. Aliel, Baul, and Wanga all doubled back from their individual performances, and all three were on the 2019 gold-medal winning relay team. Joining them on the relay was Adolf Kauba.

The PNG relay team crossed the line in 3:13.53, ahead of silver medalist Fiji's 3:15.80. According to the Pacific Games News Service, the two teams were in a tight battle until the end, with Aliel pulling away on the anchor leg. PNG was awarded a yellow card for a foul during the race, but the infraction was deemed not enough to disqualify the relay and they held onto their gold medal.

"For so many years, student-athletes from the Oceania Foundation played such a huge role for our program. It is great to see them continuing to do great things after graduating from SWCC," said Scott Vicker, SWCC director of cross country/track & field, who coached Aliel during his final season at SWCC in 2021. "Ben had gone through a lot with injuries to his back and hamstring. I'm sure the time away from track & field while he was competing in rugby gave him a chance to refresh his mind and fall in love with the sport all over again. I'm glad he found his way back to the sport of track & field and is having the success he deserves."

Aliel still holds SWCC school records in the indoor 200 meters (22.11) and 400 meters (48.75), as well as the indoor 4x800 relay, and ranks thid in program history in the outdoor 200 meters (22.01) and fifth in the outdoor 400 meters (48.78).

Photo by: Lawrence Ale, Pacific Games News Service