Never afraid of a challenge, Paralympic gold medallist Tupou Neiufi is embracing a new chapter – changing both her sport and her country as she attempts to qualify for her fourth Games. The champion South Auckland swimmer, who won gold in the women’s 100m backstroke S8 at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021, still feels the pull of the pool. She has since turned her focus to a land-based sport, representing New Zealand in shot put. And while she’s preparing to move to Australia, she’s adamant she will always wear the silver fern.
“My decision has nothing to do with sport or my career path,” explains Tupou, 25.
“I just feel like I need a change of environment. It won’t be forever – maybe just my twenties and early thirties. But Aotearoa will always be home. I’ll come back here and settle.”
At the age of two, Tupou was hit by a car in a near-fatal hit-and-run. That accident left her with hemiplegia – the left side of her body is smaller and weaker – while a traumatic brain injury means she tires quickly.
She took up swimming as a kid, using the sport to strengthen her body and forge the determination that would make her a Paralympic champion, as well as a medallist at the Commonwealth Games and world champs. But now Tupou, who made her Paralympic debut at just 15 in Rio de Janeiro, is stepping away from the water.
She says, “I’ve always wanted to do something other than look at the black line at the bottom of a pool. I’ve done it for so long, I was burning out and needed a change.”
Finding her strength in shot put
A runner while she was at Ōtāhuhu College, Tupou has switched her focus to shot put, representing New Zealand in athletics for the first time at the Oceania Championships in Darwin in May.
Competing in the same field as fellow Kiwi Paralympic medallists Lisa Adams and Holly Robinson – who were first and second in the women’s para shot put – wasn’t an easy introduction to the international stage, but Tupou relished the experience, finishing ninth. And she’s enjoying the differences between the two disciplines.
“Now I don’t have to wake up at 4am to train,” she smiles.
“I don’t have to train every single day and I don’t have to deal with chlorine or get wet. Ironically, I hate getting wet!”
A new sport, a new mindset
But Tupou has had to make changes to the way she prepares for competition.
“You see swimmers come out to the blocks wearing headphones to get in the zone – well, you can’t do that in athletics!” she laughs.
“So I have to sing songs to myself. The other girls ask me, ‘Are you OK?!’ “Before my throws, I have to shake everything out, like I did beside the pool, and everyone’s thinking, ‘What the heck is she doing?’ But I’m just zoning in.”
Her eyes are firmly on LA
Swimming remains on Tupou’s radar, especially for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
“I’m still hoping to get to LA with swimming, but it would be pretty interesting if I can make the Paralympics with shot put as well,” she says.
Spending time with her family
In the meantime, she’s looking forward to spending time with her brothers in Melbourne. The eldest of seven siblings in a close-knit Tongan family, Tupou will then settle in Perth, a city she fell in love with last year. A disability support worker, she hopes to further her study in disability and aged care.
“It’s an area I’m really passionate about,” she says. “Growing up, I never wanted to work with disability because it reminded me too much of my own. Back then, I wasn’t comfortable with myself and my disability. I’m just human and I have insecurities. But then I realised it’d be pretty cool to support people to live their life to the fullest and once I stepped into that role, I completely fell in love with it.”
Bringing visibility to disability
Tupou is also committed to bringing visibility to disability and her story features in the new kids’ book Kiwi Health Heroes – stories of everyday New Zealanders who’ve achieved great feats in healthcare or after struggles.
“When they first asked me to be in the book, I wasn’t sure I was the right person!” says book lover Tupou.
“But they kept encouraging me, and it was nice to tell my story and spread awareness of ‘invisible’ disabilities. A lot of people don’t know I have a disability until I tell them or they see me at the pool in my togs – then it’s pretty obvious.”
Kiwi Health Heroes by Caitlin Timmer-Arends, Rebecca Waddell and So-Young Cho ($27, Bateman Books) is out now.
