Noelani Day fulfils dream of representing Tonga at Olympics [1]
Monday, August 2, 2021 - 16:49. Updated on Saturday, August 7, 2021 - 12:33.
By Eleanor Gee
Tongan swimmer Noelani Day finished seventh in the 50m freestyle, heat 4, on Friday, 30 July, with a time of 29.06 at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 18-year-old was 1.50 seconds behind Papua New Guinea’s Judith Meauri who finished the heat in 27.56.
The gold medal winner of the 50m freestyle finals was Australia’s Emma McKeon with a time of 23.81, a new Olympic record. The silver medal went to Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem, and bronze to Denmark's Pernille Blume.
Results Heat 4, 50m freestyle swimming
Noelani spent most of her life training in the Pacific Ocean and is Tonga’s first homegrown swimmer to compete in the Olympics.
Now that her goal to participate in the Olympics has been achieved, Noelani is on her way to the USA to study Human Biology at the University of Southern California.
She plans to continue swimming and has her eyes on the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Meanwhile, Group 1 of Team Tonga are now on their way back to Tonga via New Zealand.