Beatrice Faumuina
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Beatrice Roini Liua Faumuina, ONZM (born October 23, 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, and has, since 2006, 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 has qualified for the Beijing Olympics and will be hoping for a top five finish.
Categories: 1974 births | Living people | New Zealand athletes | Olympic competitors for New Zealand | Athletes at the 1996 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics | Athletes at the 2004 Summer Olympics | Discus throwers | Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit | People from Auckland | Oceania athletics biography stubs | New Zealand sportspeople stubs