Faauuga Tia Muagututia (born May 13, 1958) is a former

United States Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

and

Winter Olympic The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were hel ...

competitor for

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

in the

bobsleigh Bobsleigh or bobsled is a team winter sport that involves making timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh. International bobsleigh competitions are governed by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Feder ...

Personal life

Muagututia was born on May 13, 1958 in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( ; Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the territorial capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County on Tutuila, which is American Samoa's main island. ...

, American Samoa. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

aged 13 and attended Carson High School in California. Muagututia and his wife Kathy have one daughter and three sons: Merideth; Grant; Garrett, a member of the

United States men's national volleyball team The United States men's national volleyball team represents the country in international competitions and friendly matches. The team is governed by USA Volleyball. The team has won five Olympic medals, including three gold. History As the birth ...

; and Myles, who has played American football and volleyball for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

Navy

He became a

Navy SEAL The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

in 1979 and by 1994 was a senior chief boatswain mate.

Bobsleigh

Muagututia was approached by the American founder of the American Samoa Bobsled Federation because of his background as a Navy SEAL. His first experience in a bobsleigh was at a driving school in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,30 ...

, Canada in November 1992. He earned qualification for the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

, held in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

Norway, by scoring 38 points across two international competitions held in Calgary, to earn above the minimum standard of 20 points, and by taking part in five international competitions. His results included a tenth-place finish in an Americas Cup Division race. He was selected to represent

American Samoa at the 1994 Winter Olympics American Samoa sent a delegation to compete at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway from 12–27 February 1994. This was the territory's first, and as of the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Olympics, only Winter Olympics they have compet ...

as part of a two-man bobsleigh team alongside brakeman Brad Kiltz. This was the first time American Samoa had sent athletes to a

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

. The pair were managed by William "Buddy" Hoblak. In the first run Muagututia and Kiltz placed 41st out of the 43 sleds in a time of 55.57 seconds. On the second run they were again 41st in a faster time of 55.25 seconds. They improved to 37th position on run three with a time of 55.06 seconds. On the fourth and final run they finished 38th in a time of 55.16 seconds. Overall they finished 39th with a combined time of 3 minutes 31.04 seconds.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muagututia, Faauuga 1958 births Living people American people of Samoan descent Bobsledders at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic bobsledders of American Samoa American Samoan male bobsledders United States Navy SEALs personnel People from Pago Pago