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Fe’ofa’aki Epenisa, known in the boxing world as Aki, will become Tonga’s first female boxer to compete in the Olympics.
photo: Tonga Boxing
Tonga’s first female boxer to qualify for the Olympics says she will give her all to fight for the Pacific in Paris.
Fe’ofa’aki Epenisa, 28, told US media she was very excited about the significance of the trip to France.
in a KSAT 12 Sports InterviewKnown as Aki in boxing circles, she said she was overjoyed when she heard the news.
Making it to the Olympics is a feat in itself, but being the first female boxer from Tonga to make it to the Olympics is even more groundbreaking.
“It’s so surreal because at first I thought my journey was over,” she told Cosat12.
“Little did I know, destiny had another path for me. When I found out, I couldn’t believe it and was so excited. Overwhelmed.”
“I feel honoured and proud, given that I am of Tongan, Samoan and Fijian descent. You know, very few of us make it to the world stage and I am delighted to bring the pride of our people to France.”
Aki recently moved to San Antonio from Oakland.
While she’s obsessed with chasing medals, she’s weighed down by the fact that she’s been able to influence an entire generation of Pacific female boxers on the island.
She said she is aware of the potential impact when she takes center stage at the Olympics on those watching in her home country and on the island.
“I take my training very seriously because I know a lot of young people look up to me,” Aki said.
“Some of the little islanders in Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, the Solomon Islands might look at me. You know what, whether it’s boxing or something else that they want to pursue and dedicate themselves to, I hope they see me and they want to pursue their own dreams and goals.”
Her team plans to fly to San Francisco on July 21 and then fly directly to Paris for the Olympics.
Aki has set GoFundMe Page Support Her Olympic journey.
“I never imagined that a little brown girl from Vava’u, running barefoot through the streets of Masilamea and Rematua, with basil senis skin stains on her fingers, scared by dogs, bitten by mosquitoes and often with scratches from climbing her neighbour’s fruit trees, would one day bring Tongan boxing to the world stage – the Olympics,” she wrote on the fundraising page.
Although she is the first Tongan female boxer to compete in the Games, she still carries a huge responsibility.
Fellow Tongan Paea Wolfgramm won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the super heavyweight boxer is the only Tongan to win an Olympic medal to date.
The Olympic website profiled Wolfgram’s achievement in 1996, when he defeated some of the world’s top players in his weight class, but ultimately lost in the final.
The website said, “In the final, he not only had to contend with formidable Ukrainian opponent Wladimir Klitschko, but also had to overcome the pain of a broken nose and wrist suffered in his match against Dokivari.
“Although Wolfgram was clearly in pain, he insisted that he would not quit – after all, the entire country was praying and encouraging him. – He played well in the first two rounds and only trailed 3-2.
“However, the Ukrainian dominated the final round, winning 7-3. Wolfgram had to settle for silver, but it was still a pretty amazing achievement for a boxer with almost no elite athletic background who made it to Atlanta despite the pain.
“Tonga’s first Olympic medal was celebrated across the country’s 169 islands!”
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