Beatrice Faumuina

Beatrice Roini Liua Faumuina, ONZM (born 23 October 1974 in Auckland) is a New Zealand discus thrower, a gold medallist at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics. She has represented New Zealand in three Summer Olympics.

At the 2004 Summer Olympics she placed 7th in the discus with a throw of 64.45 metres. Early in her career, she was coached by New Zealand sport celebrity Les Mills.

In 2006 she appeared in the New Zealand version of the television series Dancing with the Stars where she was placed second. Since 2006 she has been a presenter on the Television New Zealand Pacific Islands current events programme Tagata Pasifika.

In 2007, Beatrice has decided to focus on athletics and is basing herself in Australia for the majority of the year before competing in Osaka, Japan. She is returning to good form after a disappointing injury plagued her 2006 season, placing her 4th at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. She recently threw 62.2 metres at a meet in Christchurch, beating rival Dani Samuels from Australia. This followed a winning throw of 62.08 throw at a meet in Canberra.

She placed 28th in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with a throw of 57.18m, failing to qualify for the final. Her comments to media following her elimination were widely criticized after it was perceived that she was satisfied with what many viewed as a sub-standard performance [ [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4667149a2201.html] ] [ [http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4664368a26500.html] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/athletics-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=4861 Page with Photo, one of two at "Sporting Heroes"]