Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali, Samoa’s only boxer in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, fought not just his opponent last week but also grief.
Just before the Opening Ceremony, Plodzicki-Faoagali’s coach, Lionel Elika Fatupaito, 60, suddenly died of cardiac arrest induced by natural causes in Paris, according to CBS News.
The International Boxing Association sent its condolences and well wishes to Fatupaito’s loved ones and Team Samoa.
Plodzicki-Faoagali took to Facebook to praise his late coach and lament his passing.
“Your dream was to attend an Olympics with me and dad,” he wrote. “Now you’ve left too early we haven’t had our first fight at the Olympics like we planned!”
Peter Morrison, Papua New Guinea’s coach, stepped in to assist Plodzicki-Faoagali in Fatupaito’s place until the big fight, Reuters reported.
The 25-year-old boxer was confident he would earn his first Olympic medal this year, he told Reuters. After Fatupaito’s death, he contemplated withdrawing from the Games.
“I’ve been struggling mentally the past few days,” he said. “I don’t care about the medal right now.”
Two days later, Plodzicki-Faoagali faced Belgian boxer Victor Schelstraete and lost.
Schelstraete commended his opponent’s “big heart” for making an appearance despite the situation. When asked about how he felt facing the grieving Samoan fighter, Schelstraete said he had sympathy for Plodzicki-Faoagali but emphasized the need to detach from emotions outside the ring, Reuters reported.
After the fight, Plodzicki-Faoagali’s disappointed, bruised eyes accompanied a Facebook post where he looked back on his time in Paris. He thanked his supporters back home after “(fighting) his heart out.” And he had a few more words for Fatupaito.
“Thinking of you coach, wish you were here in the corner today,” he commented.
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