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Cook Islands native Teremoana Junior Teremoana is an Australian Olympic super heavyweight boxer who is working towards his dream of competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics. He is pictured with his mother Alicia and grandmother Jules. Supplied/24070911
Two Cook Islanders are members of the Australian boxing team set to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, scheduled for July 26 to August 11, 2024, in Paris, France.
Cook Islanders Teremoana Junior Teremoana and Tiana Echegaray will compete in the men’s over-92kg and women’s 54kg categories respectively.
Tremoana, who stands at 6 feet 6 inches tall, is an Australian super heavyweight boxer.
He has Atiu and Pukapuka (Welsh) ancestry from his father, Teremoana Tangauru, who grew up in Pue, Rarotonga.
Tremoana, who was proud of his heritage, recited Varley’s song “Taku Lakau Mei Pukapuka” at Brisbane Airport on July 5 before the team left Australia for Germany for its final training camp before the Olympics.
Over the past year, he has been training intensively to achieve peak performance in terms of strength, strategy and endurance.
“At the end of the day, it’s those three minutes when you’re actually fighting that counts,” Tremoana told the Queensland Institute of Sport earlier this week.
“So it’s a battle of wills, but also a battle of physicality. If you can beat them mentally, then it’s easier to beat them physically because they’ll give up.
“I’m not fighting for myself. Every time I step into the ring, I think about everyone, my family, my country.
“I represent 26 million people in Australia. I represent too many people to let them down.
His mother, Alicia Teremoana, who lives in Brisbane, Australia, said via Messenger that it was “extremely sad” to say goodbye to the team this week.
“We are all so excited, thrilled and so proud that his Olympic journey has begun,” Alicia said.
In August 2023, Tremoana won gold at the Australian National Championships in Perth, followed by gold at the Solomon Islands Pacific Games in November, thus qualifying for the Olympics.
Alicia said Tremoana had trained extremely hard over the past year to achieve her Olympic dream.
“Proud is definitely not enough to describe how proud he is. His commitment, dedication and sacrifice throughout the preparation process showed his desire and drive to win gold,” she said.
“I firmly believe Tremoana has the quality to win gold. No Australian super heavyweight has ever made it past the first round.
“I’m so proud of what Tremoana has achieved, and it’s a credit not only to his hard work but also to his coach Sarah Roemer, who has made a lot of sacrifices herself.
“I am certain that Teremoana will make Australia and the Cook Islands proud.”
On July 27, Alicia and her mother, Jules, flew to Paris to fulfill Tremoana’s Olympic dream.
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