By Katalina Siasau

College athlete, Maleselo Fukofuka (19) from Tatakamotonga, Tongatapu, is Tonga's only sprinter to qualify and to represent Tonga at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics Games. “I'm thrilled, I put my trust in God and I'm good to go," he said, before leaving for Paris last night.

Currently a Form 7 student at Tupou College-Toloa, Maleselo will make his Olympic debut this week, "I never expected to qualify, but I am happy, I just never expected it," he told Matangi Tonga.

Maleselo learned that he had qualified for the Paris Olympics earlier this month, after ariving home in Tonga from the Oceania Athletics Championships held in Fiji from 1- 8 June. 

But he was surprised by his 100 meters sprint qualification.

"I'm used to competing in 400 meters, 1500 and 3000 meters but no less than, I was surprised to qualify for the Olympics 100 meters."

Going into the Olympics, Maleselo hopes that it will be a stepping stone for his future in sports.

“The Olympics will be a chance for me to learn, and when I come back to Tonga I will know my weaknesses and will work towards improving them, and will prepare better," he said.

"I'm not nervous, as this is not my first time to compete in sports games outside of Tonga. I want to put my talent to work, and to represent Tonga."

Maleselo trains with his coach Siueni Filimone at Toloa, everyday after school. He had his last training on Monday before leaving for Paris on Tuesday night.

His best record during his training is eleven seconds.

Inter-collegiate gold medalist

A strong all-round runner, Maleselo is the second-eldest of ten children.

He started high school in Beulah Adventist College then later transferred to Tupou College Toloa in 2022, with hopes to make Toloa's Intercollege sports team - one of the best at the annual Intercollegiate sports competition in Tongatapu.

"I wanted to make Toloa’s sports team to the Intercollegiate sports," he said.

However, the 2022 Intercollege sport was cancelled due to the Covid 19 restrictions.

Maleselo once again made Toloa's sports team in the 2023 Intercollege sports and competed in the senior 1500 and 3000 meters track. He also participated in this year's Intercollege sports competition, and won a Gold medal in the Open Boys 1500 meters.

Maleselo is also a swimmer and was part of the Tongan swimming team who travelled to China in 2019 for a training program.

In November 2023, Maleselo competed in the Pacific Games in the Solomon Islands.

His Olympic 100m Sprint heat is scheduled for Saturday, 3 August at 10:35am, Paris Time; (Saturday, 3 August 9:35pm Tonga time).

XXXIII Olympiad

The 2024 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad [2] and officially branded as Paris 2024, is scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France

The opening ceremony is on Friday, July 26 at 7:30pm Paris time (17:30 GMT), (Saturday, 27 July 6:30am Tonga time). The games will open at the Seine, where dozens of boats will carry athletes across a 6km route in the river.

Some sports will begin before the official opening ceremony, including football and rugby sevens which start on July 24, and archery and handball, which begin on July 25.

A total of 10,500 athletes representing 206 countries are competing in this year’s Olympics. Athletes will be competing for 329 gold medals across 32 sports. The medals [3] include a metal token sourced from the Eiffel Tower.

The Olympics take place every four years, and the last games in Tokyo were delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and held largely without spectators.