 Iongi with her medals | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| National team | Tonga |
| Born | 5 August 1947 Nukunuku, Tonga |
| Died | 22 February 2017 (aged 69) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Track and field |
| Events | |
Keta Iongi (1947–2017) was a female athlete who competed for Tonga at the South Pacific Games and at the British Commonwealth Games as a sprinter and hurdler and in the modern pentathlon.
Family
Keta Iongi Palu was born on 5 August 1947. She came from an athletic family. Her brother, Kei, played rugby union for Tonga and her sister, Kalasi, was also an international athlete. Her son, Wycliff Palu, played professional rugby in Australia and she was an aunt to the Australian netball player Mo'onia Gerrard, the Australian professional rugby union player, Mark Gerrard, and the Tongan rugby player Sioeli Iongi, who played in Japan.[1][2]
Sporting activities
Iongi took part in the 1969 South Pacific Games in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea. She won four gold medals, in the 100 metres, 200 metres, 80 metres hurdles and the pentathlon. In the 1971 South Pacific Games, held in Papeete in French Polynesia, she won a gold in the 100 metres, a silver in the 100 metres hurdles and a bronze in the 200 metres. Her sister also competed in Papeete. Iongi also took part in the 1974 British Commonwealth Games, which were held in Christchurch, New Zealand. Here she was less successful, failing to move beyond the first round of heats.[2][3][4]
She was inducted into the Tonga National Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.[5]
Death
Keta Iongi died on 22 February 2017.[6]
Honours
- National honours
Order of Queen Sālote Tupou III, Member (31 July 2008).[7]
References
- ↑ "1967 Tongan rugby player's death reveals sport talent runs in family blood". Kaniva Tonga. 2015-03-15. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- 1 2 "Tonga Sportsmen short of money". Pacific Islands Monthly. 42 (8): 21. August 1971. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ↑ "Keta Iongi". Commonwealth Sport. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ↑ "Keta Iongi". Athletics Podium. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ↑ "Seven named for the National Sports Hall of Fame". Matangitonga. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
- ↑ "In Loving Memory of Keta Iongi Palu". Facebook. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ↑ "Royal orders presented at Palace". Matangi Tonga. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2022.