Uaealesi Funaki (born 1998) is a Tongan New Zealander weightlifter who has represented New Zealand at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships and Tonga at the Pacific Mini Games.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 1998[1] Ōtāhuhu, New Zealand[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Tonga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Weightlifting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Funake was born in the Auckland suburb of Ōtāhuhu[1] and grew up in Māngere.[2] He was educated at Southern Cross College.[3] He began weightlifting at age 15 to improve his rugby performance,[2] and later represented New Zealand at the 2015 Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, winning silver in the under 85kg class.[3] In 2018, he represented New Zealand at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.[2]
At the 2022 Pacific Mini Games in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands he won three gold medals in the 96kg category.[4][5] He also won a gold medal at the Oceania Weightlifting Championships, held concurrently.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Uaealesi Funaki". New Zealand Olympic Committee. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ a b c Alan Apted (28 June 2018). "NZ junior weightlifting champs to take on world's best". Stuff. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ a b "College Sport: Powerful young weightlifter raising the bar". New Zealand Herald. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "Three more golds for Tonga at Pacific Mini Games 2022". Matangi Tonga. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "Fiji sprinter Banuve Tabakaucoro secures Mini Games gold as Tonga bags shot put win". PMN. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Mark Rabago (1 July 2022). "Weightlifter, netters inspire calamity-stricken Tonga". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
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