\u201cI\u2019m very proud and very glad to be able to represent my country on this big stage,\u201d said Taafaki, one of only eight athletes and paraathletes from her country in Glasgow. \u201cProbably 95% of the audience don\u2019t know where my country is, so I feel very privileged to represent Tuvalu.\u201d<\/p>\n
Badi Taafaki, her coach and father, said the medal would be celebrated by the 10,000 population of the 10square-mile nation \u2013 the world\u2019s fourth smallest \u2013 and serve to highlight a climate emergency.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the people of Tuvalu, this medal means everything,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re one of the smallest nations in the world, so a medal like this is hugely significant. We have worked so hard to get here. For me as a coach, it\u2019s a stepping stone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Athletes often train on the island\u2019s airport runway as it is its most stable land mass. However, with sea levels rising, climate experts predict half of the nation\u2019s capital, Funafuti, could be submerged by 2050. \u201cYes, we train on the runway,\u201d said Taafaki. \u201cWhen a plane comes in, everyone moves aside. As soon as it leaves, we go back on the tarmac, because there is nowhere else to train.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Tarona and her brother Pasoni, who also boxed in the Commonwealth Games, are based in New Zealand where the facilities are better. \u201cWhen I was growing up, boxing barely existed in Tuvalu,\u201d said Badi. \u201cWe didn\u2019t have gloves, so we were forced to fight bare-knuckle, and hit bags filled with sand. My children are very fortunate. They have opportunities and facilities that I never had. Boxing<\/a> is our whole life. Strength is in our bloodline. It\u2019s where our genealogy comes from.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can win medals, more people around the world will recognise Tuvalu and begin to understand the challenges we face because of climate change. It is very real for us. The coastal erosion is unbelievable, and the countdown is now measured in years, not decades.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1028.jpg\")
<\/p>\n