Boxer secures Tuvalu’s first Commonwealth Games medal without winning a bout

Tarona Taafaki, a 20-year-old boxer, has etched her name in history by securing Tuvalu's first-ever Commonwealth Games medal. She achieved this feat without winning a single bout in the women's 75kg category at the Glasgow games.

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I’m very proud and very glad to be able to represent my country on this big stage. Probably 95% of the audience don’t know where my country is, so I feel very privileged to represent Tuvalu.

Taafaki received a bye to the semi-finals, where she faced India's Lovlina Borgohain. Despite losing by unanimous decision, the semi-finalists in the Commonwealth Games are awarded bronze medals. This outcome means Taafaki brings home a historic medal for the small Pacific island nation.

"I'm very proud and very glad to be able to represent my country on this big stage," said Taafaki, who was one of only eight athletes representing Tuvalu. She noted that many people likely don't know where her country is located, making her representation even more significant.

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For the people of Tuvalu, this medal means everything. We’re one of the smallest nations in the world, so a medal like this is hugely significant. We have worked so hard to get here. For me as a coach, it’s a stepping stone.

Her coach and father, Badi Taafaki, emphasized the medal's profound meaning for Tuvalu's 10,000 residents. He stated that the medal is a "stepping stone" and will help draw global attention to the nation's vulnerability to climate change. Athletes in Tuvalu often train on the island's airport runway due to the lack of stable land, a situation exacerbated by rising sea levels that threaten to submerge parts of the capital by 2050.

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Yes, we train on the runway. When a plane comes in, everyone moves aside. As soon as it leaves, we go back on the tarmac, because there is nowhere else to train.

"Yes, we train on the runway," Taafaki explained. "When a plane comes in, everyone moves aside. As soon as it leaves, we go back on the tarmac, because there is nowhere else to train." While Tarona and her brother Pasoni train in New Zealand for better facilities, their father recalled a time when boxing in Tuvalu lacked basic equipment, forcing bare-knuckle fights. He expressed gratitude for the opportunities his children now have, highlighting that boxing is deeply ingrained in their culture and identity.

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If we can win medals, more people around the world will recognise Tuvalu and begin to understand the challenges we face because of climate change. It is very real for us. The coastal erosion is unbelievable, and the countdown is now measured in years, not decades.