Tokyo Paralympics: Tupou Neiufi wins New Zealand's first gold in 100m backstroke S8

Roared on by Sophie Pascoe and her para swimming team-mates, Tupou Neiufi was overcome with emotion as she snared New Zealand’s first gold medal of the Tokyo Paralympics on Friday.

The 20-year-old from Auckland led throughout to beat her five rivals in a time of 1min 16.84sec in the women’s 100m backstroke S8 final at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

She had 1.47sec to spare over silver medallist Kateryna Denysenko of Ukraine, with USA’s Jessica Long claiming bronze in 1:18.55. The latter, a giant of para sport, delivered the young New Zealander a congratulatory hug in the pool.

It was New Zealand’s second medal of these Games, after Paralympics legend Pascoe’s silver in the pool on Thursday night in her first of five events.

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After she touched in front, Neiufi held her head in her hands as the emotion of the occasion hit home, her masked up team-mates waving a New Zealand flag and celebrating wildly in the sparsely populated stands due to Covid-19.

The tears flowed again as she was presented with her gold medal, clutching it to her face as she stood glassy eyed to strains of God Defend New Zealand.

“Pretty tired, pretty hungry… medal-wise it just feels surreal, I don’t even know how to feel,” she said.

Neiufi was embarrassed that she lost her shape in the second 50m – “I have no idea where the technique went” – and explained her emotional reaction at the finish.

“I was quite tired and a bit confused but as soon as I heard my team-mates cheering I thought I should have a look and see what was going on.

“As soon as I saw the result on the board I started getting emotional and saw the camera and thought ‘no don’t cry, the camera is right there’. The emotions got the best of me, just so happy.”

Asked what it meant, with the gold around her neck, she said: “It means a lot to me, because it not only represents my hard work but also everyone that has helped me along the way, my parents, my family, my coach [Sheldon Kemp at Howick Pakuranga], my team, I’m just so grateful for that.”

Neiufi always looked a strong medal chance, and arrived with the second-fastest qualifying time, 1:15.36 in winning silver at the 2019 para swimming world championships in London.

Her conqueror that day, Great Britain’s Alice Tai, swam a world record 1:08.04 but withdrew from these Games due to an elbow injury which smoothed Neiufi’s path to the podium.

There was another key pre-race withdrawal, with fastest qualifier Viktoriia Ishchiulova of Russia not making the start line and leaving lane four vacant next to Neiufi, who never looked like being headed after making a strong start.

With just seven original entries, there were no heats and the S8 backstrokers all had one crack at the medals.

Neiufi made her Paralympics debut in Rio five years ago as a 15-year-old, and finished seventh in the 100m backstroke S8 final. She said before departure for Tokyo the experience as a wide-eyed teenager held her in good stead.

“I feel good and the times I’ve been swimming in training have been pretty decent, so I like to think I’m heading on the right track,” she said of her buildup.

Neiufi, who is of Tongan descent, was just two years old when she was hit by a speeding car. It resulted in left-sided hemiplegia, meaning she has paralysis on the left side of her body. She started swimming when she was eight and quickly showed her ability in the pool.

After this she plans to study nursing while continuing to train for next year's Commonwealth Games.

Neiufi is also passionate about inspiring kids with disabilities to try para sport, particularly those in the Pasifika community, as well as easing any fears parents may have.