The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Symone Tafuna’i.

All photos by Geoffery Matautia.

Symone Tafuna’i does it all. At only 25, she is a champion sprinter, a sports reporter for RNZ, scholar, and New Balance ambassador. But, as she tells us, her most important roles are to her family and community. Several people nominated Symone, noting her achievements on the track and in media, but most importantly that “she is a charming light of personality” and “a beacon of light for her age group, with so much intellect and wisdom that she shares with humour”.

Kia ora Symone. Can you tell us about your name?

Tafuna’i is Samoan. I hail from the villages of Magiagi, Vaisala, and Taunugamanono. I’m on this journey where I’m navigating my family history and my culture. I literally just signed up for Samoan language lessons with my sister. I was brought up very traditional, but I wouldn’t say hyper-traditional. With my school and extracurricular activities, I think I assimilated to the Pālagi ways. Because if I didn’t, then I’d get bullied. Now that I’m older, I’m not afraid to step out and navigate my cultural roots. 

Who and where is home for you?

My family, and our house in Avondale. It used to be the hood, but not anymore. I live here with my mum, her two siblings, my oldest sister, and my little cousin. This house was always everybody’s house. It was cool for me to grow up and see all sorts of people come through.

You’re a busy woman! Tell us about all the things you’re doing at the moment.

I’m a 100 metre sprinter. I’m also a journalist, do social media and sports reporting.

Let’s start with the sprinting. When did that begin?

For me, it was seeing Beatrice Faumuina in the Olympics on TV. Even though she does discus, it was super iconic for me because there aren’t a lot of brown sisters in athletics. Seeing someone who reflected me was inspirational.

There’s no shortage of Pacific athletes in other sporting codes. Why are there so few in athletics?

Funding. There are a lot of Pacific people who started in athletics, but because there’s a lack of funding we lose a lot of athletes. It’s a huge financial investment. Growing up, my grandma wanted me to have everything that she didn’t have, so she put me in a lot of extracurricular activities alongside my sister. I dabbled in track and field from when I was three years old. Now my mum tells me that there were a lot of sacrifices that she and Dad would make. My mum would say, “You didn’t know this, but we would sometimes go without groceries for a week, or we wouldn’t pay our bills, just to fund your athletics trips”. I think a lot of Pacific Islander families do that because they want the best for their family. 

What does life look like day to day?

It varies because I have to balance my reporting roles. Usually, I train four or five days a week and then compete in the weekends. Training is in the afternoon on the North Shore, so I work a few hours during the day. I’m really lucky that my manager is very understanding about my sporting goals. I tried just doing athletics without any extracurricular activities, but it wasn’t working. I felt like I performed worse because I just put all my energy into athletics. And then when I wasn’t achieving my goals I fell into a deep depression. Having a balance of sports reporting and athletics makes me perform better.

What are your goals?

The Commonwealth Championships is in July [2025]. It’s always been a goal of mine. The closest I’ve ever been to it was making the long list for the New Zealand women’s relay team in 2020. I also want to represent Samoa one day.

Beyond the athletic skills, what has sprinting taught you about yourself?

It’s taught me resilience, responsibility and time management. And learning how to have fun. I think that having fun and being happy is still underrated. I used to think that I had to achieve a certain goal, like making the New Zealand team, to achieve happiness. But I’ve learnt to enjoy the process of training. I’m putting less pressure on myself, because at the end day, if I’m not enjoying what I’m doing, then why am I doing it?

Why sports reporting?

I studied for a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications and graduated in 2021. I enjoy connecting with people and reporting has been a great way to do that with the fans and the community. They remind me of why I’m doing this. I learn a lot from them. I feel a great sense of responsibility to ensure that whatever stories I do, I do them well. I don’t do this for myself. I do this for my family, but also for young Pacific people who maybe didn’t think that this could be a career for them. I ultimately want to continue to break glass ceilings and enjoy what I do. If you enjoy what you do, and who you are as a person, I feel like that’s enough. 

You’re not afraid to be vulnerable in your work and share about your mental health struggles. This isn’t always common for athletes or people with a public profile. Why is it important to you?

I never knew how to shut up! [laughs] I was diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety in 2018. I came off my antidepressants in 2023. That was a really hard journey for me to navigate. I didn’t know what anxiety attacks were until I was having one. My family took it upon themselves to do a lot of research about what anxiety and depression was. We had family counselling to ensure that they could learn skills to help me navigate through this mental health space.

Investing in myself and my growth is so important to me, because it helps me be the best person, not only for myself, but for my family and for other people. I think if I’m open with people, then that makes them feel more comfortable to engage with me beyond a surface level. I always feel really honoured when people can connect with me.

What role do you see yourself having in the community?

I want to be a mentor in the athletics and sporting space. I’ve had a few girls who’ve just started journalism at uni who’ve reached out to me and asked me how I’ve gotten into the position I’m in now. It’s important for me to help them navigate their journey because it’s hard. Not only being a woman in this space but a Pacific woman, too. I remember this one time when I was in the media box for a rugby game and this man turned to me and said “What are you doing here?” He didn’t believe that I was a sports reporter so he demanded to see my accreditation and proof of work. And I was thinking to myself, “Watch the game! Don’t worry about me!”

Who has shaped you?

My mum built me. My sister built me. I feel like all the women in my family inspire me. It’s in the culture. My mum and my sister taught me to own my voice and to lead. Not just for my cousins, but also for younger Pacific people in whatever spaces they occupy. 

What do you hope for future Symone?

I hope future Symone is secure within herself, confident with the person she is and upholding herself and her family. And representing the people, in whatever I’m doing!

This is Public Interest Journalism funded by NZ On Air.