Tupou Neiufi (born 15 June 2001) is a New Zealand para-swimmer who represented her country at the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

and the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. She won a silver medal at the

2019 World Para Swimming Championships The 2019 World Para Swimming Championships is the 2019 edition of the World Para Swimming Championships run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The championships were held from February to June in seven countries across five continent ...

and gold at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

in Tokyo.

Early life

Born in the Auckland suburb of

Māngere East Māngere East or Mangere East is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, under the governance of Auckland Council. It is located to the south of Favona, north of Papatoetoe, west of Middlemore, east of Māngere and Māngere Bridge, and southwest of ...

in 2001, Neiufi is the eldest child of

Tongan New Zealanders Tongan New Zealanders are Tongan immigrants in New Zealand, their descendants, and New Zealanders of Tongan ethnic descent. They constitute one of New Zealand's most sizeable ethnic minorities. In the 2013 census, 60,336 New Zealanders identified ...

Lose and Fineasi Neiufi. She has six younger siblings. At age two, Neiufi was run over in a

hit-and-run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

accident and suffered damage to the right side of her head. She suffered bruising on the brain,

hypertonia Hypertonia is a term sometimes used synonymously with spasticity and rigidity in the literature surrounding damage to the central nervous system, namely upper motor neuron lesions. Impaired ability of damaged motor neurons to regulate descending ...

and has a left-sided

hemiplegia Hemiparesis, or unilateral paresis, is weakness of one entire side of the body ('' hemi-'' means "half"). Hemiplegia is, in its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused by different medic ...

and as a result the left side of her brain is smaller than the right, causing slower processing at times. The left side of her body is also smaller and weaker than the right. After the accident, Neiufi had to be taught how to sit, walk and use her arms again. As a child, she wanted to play netball but had difficulty keeping up with the other players. Her physiotherapist suggested she try swimming, and she started swimming at about nine years of age and competing the following year. Neiufi was educated at Sutton Park Primary School and later

Otahuhu College Otahuhu College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand for students years 9 to 13. Location It is located in the suburb of Otahuhu and is a co-educational school. The main campus entrance is on Mangere Road, the Memorial Field sports ...

Swimming career

In 2011,

Paralympics New Zealand Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ) is the National Paralympic Committee in New Zealand for the Paralympic Games movement. It oversees the means by which New Zealand participates at the Summer Paralympics and the Winter Paralympics. PNZ is affiliated ...

selected Neiufi for coaching and

High Performance Sport New Zealand Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ) (Māori: ''Ihi Aotearoa'') is a New Zealand Crown entity responsible for governing sport and recreation in New Zealand. Sport NZ believes sport is an integral part of New Zealand's culture and way of life. The org ...

selected her for their sport services and support programme. In 2016, she was named a reserve for the

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, and was selected in August after fellow swimmer Bryall McPherson had to withdraw through injury. Neiufi competed in the women's 100 m backstroke S9, placing seventh. Neiufi represented New Zealand at the

on the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, competing in the 100 m backstroke S9, and finished in sixth place in the final. Neiufi was a silver medallist in the 100 m backstroke S8 at the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. She won New Zealand's first gold at the

in the 100m backstroke S8 in Tokyo.

Awards and recognition

In 2017 Neiufi won the Pacific Health and Wellbeing Award at the SunPix Pacific Peoples Awards in Auckland, New Zealand. She also received the 2017 Tongan Youth Excellence Award in the Senior Athlete category from the To’utupu Tonga Youth Trust.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neiufi, Tupou 2001 births Living people Swimmers at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Swimmers at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Paralympic swimmers for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand S8-classified para swimmers New Zealand female swimmers People educated at Otahuhu College Swimmers from Auckland New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships People from Māngere Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for New Zealand Paralympic medalists in swimming 21st-century New Zealand women Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games