Marissa Williamson Pohlman put everything into her career. She was the first Aboriginal female boxer to represent Australia at the Paris Olympics in 2024, and had plans to compete at the Commonwealth Games. Instead, she’s had to walk away from the sport she loves to fight for athlete welfare, after experiencing racism and bullying throughout her career. “The sad part to me is I am going to have to reconcile with [the fact] I’m never going to be able to box again,” Williamson Pohlman tells Refinery29 Australia. “It’s actually just devastating. It breaks my heart. I was a foster kid… it’s that inner child, the 17-year-old girl who just started boxing and grinding really hard to make something for herself, I’m sad for her.”
