In Gold Coast, double Olympic weightlifter Jenly Tegu Wini won the country's first ever Commonwealth Games medal, while capital city Honiara is warming up to stage the 2023 Pacific Games next year.

Wini bagged bronze at 58 kilograms in Gold Coast and is in great form approaching Birmingham 2022, after winning three gold medals at last month's Pacific Mini Games in the Northern Mariana Islands. 

She will be part of a 19-strong Solomon Islands squad in Birmingham, the largest the country has ever taken to a Commonwealth Games.

As well as weightlifting, Solomon Islands will also be competing in aquatics, athletics, beach volleyball, boxing, judo, table tennis and triathlon in the English city. 

Birmingham 2022 is an important chance for the country to compete at a major event with a decent sized team, after only three athletes were able to take part in Solomon Islands colours at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

These were marathon runner Sharon Firisua, swimmer Edgar Iro and weightlifter Mary Kini Lifu.

"The Commonwealth Games is one of the biggest sporting events in the world," said the team's Chef de Mission Francis Manioru.

"And as a member of the Commonwealth family, the Games means a lot to the athletes and the people of Solomon Islands."

Manioru, a programme manager with the National Olympic Committee of Solomon Islands (NOCSI), is no stranger to major events.

The 40-year-old former 100 metres sprinter competed at the Commonwealth Games three times, at Melbourne 2006, Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014.

He also raced at the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympics, and won Pacific Games bronze in the 4x100m relay in 2007.

In Athens, he was the country's flagbearer and appeared in national dress.

Solomon Islands first competed at the Commonwealth Games in 1982 in Brisbane, but missed the next edition in Edinburgh in 1986.

They have been ever-present since then with Wini's Gold Coast bronze their crowning achievement.

Weightlifting will be their big hope both in Birmingham and at their home Pacific Games next year.

Improvements at the Solomon Islands Sports Institute are said to have boosted their prospects greatly, as lifters were previously forced to train in a rundown building at Lawson Tama Stadium.

In February, the Queen's Baton Relay for Birmingham 2022 visited the Solomon Islands.

The baton was present at a celebration event in Unity Square in Honiara, which is home to the biggest flag and tallest flagpole in the Pacific.

Martin Rara, the President of the NOCSI, gave a speech to mark the occasion.

Another stop for the baton was the appropriately named Commonwealth Street.

Next year's Pacific Games will be the first ever held in the Solomon Islands, with Chinese cash helping to bankroll the project.

It promises to be a pivotal moment in Solomon Islands sport, and the aim will be to head into next year on the back of good performances in Birmingham.

"The importance of hosting the Pacific Games is the benefits that come with delivering the Games," said Manioru. 

"The legacy the Games will leave behind, and national pride.

"The Games can also be used as a platform to showcase culture to the region and the world, while boosting tourism and the local economy."