Beatrice Faumuinā is newly appointed to the Sports and Recreation New Zealand board (Sport NZ), Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage confirmed today.

An Aucklander of Samoan descent Beatrice Faumuinā ONZM represented New Zealand in discus at four Olympic Games and five Commonwealth Games. After winning a World Track and Field title in 1997, she took back to back gold medals at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games and was the New Zealand Team Captain and flag bearer at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

After retiring as a track and field athlete in 2010, Beatrice Faumuinā became the inaugural CEO of the Best Pasifika Leadership Academy and Charitable Foundation, and ASB’s Head of Department for Talent and People Strategy while supporting health and wellbeing initiatives locally. In 2005 she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to athletics.

From 2015–2018, Beatrice Faumuinā was a New Zealand diplomat in New York and took the Trade Commissioner and Consul General role to support New Zealand businesses and keep the New Zealand-New York community safe through outreach and consular duties.

She received the Sir Peter Blake Leader Award in 2013, the World Class New Zealand Award in 2015 and was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in February 2019.

Her appointment is for a three-year term until 30 November 2022.

Established by the Sport and Recreation New Zealand Act 2002, Sport NZ’s role is to develop and implement initiatives for physical recreation and sport, as well as promote and advocate the importance of participation in physical activity by all New Zealanders for their health and well-being. With the addition of Beatrice Faumuinā, the Sport NZ board now has nine members.

© Scoop Media