Meleane Falemaka delivered a strong performance in the Para Athletics Women’s Discus Throw F38 event at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games today held at the Stade de France.
Competing in her first Paralympic Games, Falemaka who is in class F37, achieved a personal best with a throw of 16.71 metres, placing 14th (last) in the final standings.
A total of eight F37 and six F38 athletes were combined into this F38 women’s final. This is the first time Tonga competes in the women’s F37/38 event.
Simone Kruger of South Africa, who is the current F38 world record holder, claimed the gold with a throw of 38.70 metres, setting a new personal record and breaking the F38 Paralympic record of 33.73 metres, set by Mexico’s Rosa Carolina Castro at Tokyo.
Close behind was Li Yingli of the People’s Republic of China with 38.64 metres, earning her the silver medal. Colombia’s Xiomara Saldarriaga Hernandez secured the bronze with 38.36 metres, setting a new Americas record.
The Oceania record holders are both Australians; Amanda Fraser in F37 with 30.37 metres and Samantha Schmidt in F38 with 34.02 metres.
Although Falemaka did not place in the top ranks, her participation brings attention to the growing presence of Pacific athletes in the Paralympic movement taking to the global platform.
Tonga went into the Paralympic Games with never having won a Paralympic medal in their history of participating in the Games. Tonga’s début in the Paralympics was in Sydney during the 2000 Summer Olympics and it has participated in every Summer Paralympics between then and the Paris 2024 Paralympics and only missing out on the Tokyo 2020 Games. In all these Games, Tonga has sent only one athlete except two to the Rio Paralympics in 2016.
