Amini Fonua
Personal information
Full nameAmini Tuitavake Britteon Fonua
National team Tonga
Born (1989-12-14) December 14, 1989
Auckland, New Zealand
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight79 kg (174 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke, Butterfly
College teamTexas A&M University (U.S.)
CoachSandra Burrow (1999–2007, 2015), Donna Bouzaid (2007–2008), Jay Holmes (2008–2012), Jon Winter (2012)
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing  Tonga
Pacific Games
Gold medal – first place 2015 Port Moresby 50 m breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 2015 Port Moresby 100 m breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 2015 Port Moresby 200 m breaststroke
Silver medal – second place 2011 Noumeá 50 m breaststroke
Silver medal – second place 2011 Noumeá 200 m breaststroke
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Noumeá 100 m breaststroke
Oceania Swimming Championships
Gold medal – first place 2010 Apia 50 m breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 2012 Nouméa 50 m breaststroke
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Apia 100 m breaststroke
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Apia 50 m butterfly
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Nouméa 50 m butterfly

Amini Tuitavake Britteon Fonua (born 14 December 1989) is a Tongan competitive swimmer.[1]

Career

Fonua's swimming career began at the Roskill Swimming Club based at Cameron Pool in Auckland, coached by Sandra Burrow from 1999–2007. He broke numerous Auckland and New Zealand Age Group Records under Burrow's tenure.[2] He then moved to West Auckland Aquatics in 2007, and was coached by Donna Bouzaid. In the Fall of 2008, Fonua enrolled at Texas A&M on a swimming scholarship. While at Texas A&M he was a peer voted team captain, Big XII Conference Champion, NCAA All-American, and recipient of The Aggie Heart Award. He graduated with a Telecommunication and Multi-Media degree, with a Minor in Creative Writing in May 2013.[3]

He was "the first Tongan swimmer to win a gold medal in international competition", when he took gold in the 50 metre breaststroke at the 2010 Oceania Swimming Championships.[4]

In preparation for the 2012 London Olympics Fonua was trained by New Zealander and designated head coach for Tonga, Jon Winter. He served as his nation's flag-bearer in the 2012 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations.[5] As a swimmer at the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the Men's 100 metre breaststroke, failing to reach the semifinals.

Fonua made an international comeback at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. He created history by becoming the first ever Tongan athlete to ever win three gold medals at a Pacific Games by sweeping the Breaststroke events, setting two Games Records in the process (50 m and 100 m Breaststroke). He is the only Tongan athlete in history to ever hold dual Oceania and Pacific Games titles.[6]

At the 2016 Olympics, he again competed in the 100 m breaststroke.[7]

Fonua appeared on the Summer 2017 issue of Attitude Magazine.[8]

Personal life

Fonua was born and raised in Ponsonby, Auckland, New Zealand to Tongan lawyer Sione Fonua and British-born mother Julie.[9] He holds dual Tongan and New Zealand citizenship. His family includes two sisters.

Fonua is openly gay and a vocal advocate for LGBT rights.[4][10][11] After The Daily Beast published a contentious piece about athletes using Grindr at the 2016 Olympics, criticized the article as 'deplorable', writing: "It is still illegal to be gay in Tonga, and while I’m strong enough to be me in front of the world, not everybody else is. Respect that."[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Amini Fonua". London2012.com. The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  2. ↑ Staff (22 July 2012). "Tonga first swimmer at London Olympics". Tonganz.net. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Paloma Migone (28 July 2012). "NZ-born Tongan looks to make Olympic mark". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Be true to yourself, says gay Tongan swimmer". Radio Australia. 17 May 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016.
  5. ↑ Publisher (25 July 2012). "Three athletes to represent Tonga at London Olympics". Matangi Tonga Online. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  6. ↑ Publisher (10 July 2015). "PNG Hero Steps Closer The Pini-Cle Of Pacific Swimming". EMTV Online. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Amini Fonua Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  8. ↑ "Attitude Magazine on Twitter: Olympians Adam Peaty & Amini Fonua make a splash in our Summer issue - last weekend on sale!". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 16 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Kathryn Powley (22 July 2012). "Olympics: Kiwis fly other flags at Games". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Amini Fonua on Twitter".
  11. ↑ "Amini Fonua on Twitter".
  12. ↑ Mele, Christopher; Chokshi, Niraj (12 August 2016). "Daily Beast Removes Article on Gay Olympians in Rio". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
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