1987 South Pacific Games
# 1987 South Pacific Games

The 1987 South Pacific Games, held from 8–20 December 1987 at Nouméa in New Caledonia, was the eight edition of the South Pacific Games. Political events of the time affected the Games in 1987 and the number of competitors were down. Fiji had two military coups in 1987, and within New Caledonia itself, the Games became a focus of protest in the Kanak independence struggle. The French territories of New Caledonia and French Polynesia had the largest teams and dominated the medal count, with Papua New Guinea finishing third ahead of a depleted Fijian team.

## Participating countries

Twelve Pacific nations participated in the Games:

* American Samoa
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* French Polynesia
* Guam
* New Caledonia
* Norfolk Island
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Papua New Guinea
* Tonga
* Vanuatu
* Wallis and Futuna

## Sports

There were 18 sports contested at the 1987 South Pacific Games:

* Athletics (38) (details)
* Basketball (2)
* Boxing (11)
* Cricket (1)
* Cycling (6)
* Football (1) (details)
* Golf (4)
* Judo (9)
* Rugby union (1)
* Sailing (8)
* Shooting (9)
* Squash (4)
* Swimming (25) (details)
* Table tennis (6)
* Tennis (7)
* Underwater fishing (2)
* Volleyball (2)
* Weightlifting (10)

## Final medal table

Medals were awarded in a total of 164 events:

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | New Caledonia | 82 | 48 | 38 | 168 |
| 2 | French Polynesia | 35 | 38 | 43 | 116 |
| 3 | Papua New Guinea | 15 | 27 | 27 | 69 |
| 4 | Fiji | 9 | 14 | 15 | 38 |
| 5 | American Samoa | 9 | 5 | 5 | 19 |
| 6 | Tonga | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 6 | Wallis and Futuna | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| 8 | Northern Mariana Islands | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 9 | Guam | 1 | 8 | 13 | 22 |
| 10 | Cook Islands | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 11 | Norfolk Island | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 12 | Vanuatu | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals (12 entries) | Totals (12 entries) | 159 | 154 | 158 | 471 |
