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| Full name | Amini Tuitavake Britteon Fonua | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team |  Tonga | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 14, 1989 Auckland, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 79 kg (174 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Breaststroke, Butterfly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Texas A&M University (U.S.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Sandra Burrow (1999–2007, 2015), Donna Bouzaid (2007–2008), Jay Holmes (2008–2012), Jon Winter (2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Amini Tuitavake Britteon Fonua (born 14 December 1989) is a Tongan competitive swimmer. [1]
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]
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, he 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]
Paea Wolfgramm is a Tongan retired boxer. Nicknamed "The Tongan Warrior", Wolfgramm earned the Super Heavyweight silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics, making him the first and only athlete from Tonga to win an Olympic medal.
Giedrius Titenis is a Lithuanian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He is a four-time Olympian, a multiple-time Lithuanian record holder in the men's breaststroke, and a double swimming champion in the same discipline at the 2011 Summer Universiade in Shenzhen, China. Titenis is also a member of Anykščiai Swimming Club, and is coached and trained by Žilvinas Ovsiukas.
Tonga competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, from 3 October – 14 October 2010. Tonga's team is expected to comprise about 20 athletes, and as many officials. Tongan athletes competed in archery, swimming, weightlifting, Rugby 7s, boxing, athletics and shooting.
The 8th Oceania Swimming Championships were held 21–26 June 2010, at the Tuanaimato Aquatic Centre in Apia, Samoa. It was the eighth edition of the biennial championships, and featured competition in swimming, open water swimming and synchronized swimming. The open water events were swum in the waters off Faleasiu.
Kenneth King-him To was a Hong Kong Australian swimmer who practised individual medley, freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke. He won 6 medals at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, was the male overall winner of the 2012 FINA Swimming World Cup and was a World Championships silver medallist. He was the holder of 16 Hong Kong national swimming records.
The swimming competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place from 28 July to 4 August at the Aquatics Centre. The open-water competition took place from 9 to 10 August in Hyde Park.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Tonga face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male homosexuality is illegal in Tonga, with a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, but the law is not enforced.
Tonga competed at the 2011 Pacific Games in Nouméa, New Caledonia between August 27 and September 10, 2011. The Tongan team had 139 members.
Tonga participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, which were held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. The country's participation in London marked its eighth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included three competitors: two in athletics, Joseph Andy Lui and ʻAna Poʻuhila, along with one short distance swimmer Amini Fonua. The latter entry was Tonga's first appearance in Olympic swimming competition. Lui and Fonua qualified through wildcard places while Po'uhila made the games by meeting qualification standards. Fonua was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony while Lui held it at the closing ceremony. Lui and Fonua failed to progress farther than the preliminary round of their respective events while Po'uhila finished 29th in the heat stage of the women's shot put contest.
The United States' unincorporated territory of Guam competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, held from July 27 to August 12, 2012. This was the territory's seventh consecutive appearance at the Olympics.
Azad Al-Barazi is an American-Syrian swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. The grandson of Kurdish Syrian Prime Minister Muhsin al-Barazi’s cousin, Al-Barazi holds a dual citizenship between his parents' nation Syria and the United States, where he resides.
Pilar Shimizu is a Guamanian breaststroke swimmer. While qualifying for the 2012 Summer Olympics she broke the 20-year-old national record set by Tammie Kaae, another Olympian from Guam. At these Olympics she became the youngest Olympian ever from Guam at age 16. She finished 42nd in the 100 meter breaststroke event and did not advance to the semifinals. Shimizu also competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Internationally, Shimizu has earned three bronze medals at the Oceania Games and two silver medals at the Pacific Games.
Giordan Kariara Harris is a former competitive swimmer, and current swim coach, from Ebeye Island, Kwajalein Atoll, of the Marshall Islands. Harris is a two-time Olympic swimmer, multiple national record holder, NJCAA All American, and NJCAA & NCAA school record holder. Harris participated in numerous international competitions representing his home country, including the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore, FINA World Long Course Championships, FINA World Short Course Championships, and most notably the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Benjamin Anthony Aguon Schulte is a Guamanian swimmer. Schulte entered the international stage at 15 years old when he won a silver medal at the 2011 Pacific Games held in New Caledonia. At the 2014 Micronesian Games, Schulte was awarded medals in all 11 of his events, nine of them gold, earning him the nickname 'Micro Phelps'. At the 2015 Pacific Games, he won gold in the 200m and 400m medley, silver in the 100m breaststroke, setting a Games record in the heats that was later broken by the gold medalist in the final, and bronze in the 200m breaststroke. At the 2016 Oceania Swimming Championships, Schulte earned a gold and a silver medal.
Fiji competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. Since the nation's debut in 1956, Fijian athletes had taken part in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, except for two occasions. Fiji failed to register any athletes at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and joined the American-led boycott when Moscow hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Tonga competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This is the nation's ninth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Guam competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016. This was the territory's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Brandon Schuster is a Samoan swimmer who represented Samoa at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He holds multiple Samoan records in swimming.
Tupou Neiufi is a New Zealand para-swimmer who represented her country at the 2016 Summer Paralympics and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She won a silver medal at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships and gold at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Tonga competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's tenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
