Beatrice Roini Liua Faumuina (born 23 October 1974 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand discus thrower.
Career Faumuina was a gold medallist at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics. She has represented New Zealand in four Summer Olympics. After winning the discus event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester she was featured on a stamp from Samoa. She is currently New Zealand's Trade Commissioner and Consul General, New York.Stanley Gibbons stamp number 1126, issued on 16 July 2003.
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 Les Mills, discus gold medallist at the 1966 Commonwealth Games.
In the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours, Faumuina was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to athletics. On 16 October 2005, she was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
In 2006, she appeared in the New Zealand version of the television series Dancing with the Stars where she was placed second. Since 2006 she has been a presenter on the Television New Zealand Pacific Islands current events programme Tagata Pasifika. She also attended Lynfield College.
Injured during much of 2006, Faumuina finished fourth at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. In 2007 she based herself in Australia for the majority of 2007. She threw 62.20 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 placed 28th in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with a throw of 57.18m, failing to qualify for the final. Her comments to media following her elimination were widely criticised after it was perceived that she was satisfied with what many viewed as a sub-standard performance.
Faumuina finished seventh in the 2009 Reebok Grand Prix in New York, with a throw of 56.73 metres.Faumuina finishes 7th - Newstalk ZB. 01/06/2009. She was expected to compete in the Prefontaine Classic meet in Oregon, in order to throw the qualifying standard for the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin. However, she did not attend the meeting and her coach stated that she had decided to focus on her upcoming Bachelor of Business Studies exams instead.
Faumuina has retired from discus throwing.
In the 2026 King's Birthday Honours, Faumuina was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to sport and governance.
Achievements Representing 1992World Junior ChampionshipsSeoul, South Korea14th (q)Shot put14.58 m5thDiscus throw52.20 m1994Commonwealth GamesVictoria, Canada9thShot put14.80 m2ndDiscus throw57.12 m1995World ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden28th (q)Discus throw54.32 m1996Olympic GamesAtlanta, United States23rd (q)Discus throw58.40 m1997World ChampionshipsAthens, Greece1stDiscus throw66.82 m1998Commonwealth GamesKuala Lumpur, Malaysia4thShot put16.41 m1stDiscus throw65.92 m CR1999World ChampionshipsSeville, Spain5thDiscus throw64.62 m2000Olympic GamesSydney, Australia12thDiscus throw58.69 m2002Commonwealth GamesManchester, United Kingdom1stDiscus throw60.83 mWorld CupMadrid, Spain1stDiscus throw60.83 m2003World ChampionshipsParis, France13thDiscus throw56.86 m2004Olympic GamesAthens, Greece6thDiscus throw63.45 m2005World ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland4thDiscus throw62.73 m2006Commonwealth GamesMelbourne, Australia4thDiscus throw59.12 m2007World ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan25th (q)Discus throw55.75 m2008Olympic GamesBeijing, China28th (q)Discus throw57.15 m2010Oceania ChampionshipsCairns, Australia1stDiscus throw58.32 m CRCommonwealth GamesDelhi, India5thDiscus throw57.79 m
References
External links
Page with Photo, one of two at Sporting Heroes