Defending Paralympic Women’s 100m Backstroke S8 champion, Paralympian #201 Tupou Neiufi, has earned selection to the New Zealand Paralympic Team for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
The 23-year-old Auckland-based Para swimmer boasts outstanding international pedigree and is all set for her third Paralympic appearance, where she will compete in the Women’s 100m Backstroke S8 and the Women’s 50m Freestyle S8.
Neiufi was hit by a speeding car as a two-year-old resulting in left sided hemiplegia, caused be a traumatic brain injury. The eldest of seven children, she was identified by Paralympics NZ as part of the Para Swimming Talent Identification programme in 2011 and at the age of 15 made her Paralympic debut at Rio 2016.
There she placed seventh in the Women’s 100m S9 Backstroke before two years later finishing sixth in the Women’s 100m Backstroke S9 at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Neiufi earned her first global medal with a silver medal in the Women’s 100m Backstroke S8 at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships in London before enjoying her finest success by memorably climbing the top of the podium in the Women’s 100m Backstroke S8 at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The Kiwi, who is coached by Sheldon Kemp out of the Pukekohe Swimming Club, has since maintained her impressive medal streak by winning silver in the Women’s 100m Backstroke S8 at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games and bronze at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester in her primary event.
A delighted Neiufi said: “It has been a challenging lead up to the Games but since nationals in April everything has started to click and I’m both happy and relieved to make my third Paralympic team.
“I want to be in my best racing condition in Paris, trust in the process and hopefully I will be able to deliver my best when it counts.”
Greg Warnecke, Paralympics New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are ecstatic to add Tupou to the NZ Paralympic Team for Paris 2024. She is an experienced Paralympian who has continued to excel on the international stage. Her presence is a huge boost for the Team and we look forward to seeing how she performs in the pool in Paris.”
Swimming NZ CEO Steve Johns said: “We’re delighted to be able to add Tupou to our Para swimming team. She is an experienced athlete who deserves her place on the Paris 2024 team, and we can’t wait to see her in action month along with her five teammates”
Neiufi joins five Para swimmers – Paralympian #164 Cameron Leslie MNZM, Paralympian #205 Jesse Reynolds, and Para athletes Lili-Fox Mason, Gabriella Smith and Joshua Willmer, who were selected in May as part of the NZ Paralympic Team for Paris 2024.
