Kaia Tupu-South
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 June 2002 |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | Shot put, Discus throw |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) | Shot Put 17.60m (Albuquerque, 2025) Discus: 54.52m (Fayetteville, 2024) |
Kaia Tupu-South (born 9 June 2002) is a New Zealand shot puter and discus thrower. She won the 2021 New Zealand Athletics Championships title in the discus and competed at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in the shot put.[1]
Biography
From Auckland, she attended Westlake Girls High School. From a sporting family, her grandfather played NCAA basketball and her parents played basketball and boxed. Her brother, Trey, is a New Zealand champion boxer. Initially a multi-event athlete, after injury she switched to focus to the throwing events and won gold in the discus and silver in the shot put at the 2018 New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Dunedin.[2]
After winning more schools titles in New Zealand between 2019 and 2021, she began an athletics scholarship to the University of Washington in Seattle, in the United States.[3][4]
In 2021, she won New Zealand U20 titles in the shot put and discus.[5][6] Later that year, she also won the senior New Zealand Athletics Championships title in the discus throw in Hastings, New Zealand, with a throw of 52.87 metres.[7]
In March 2025, she was named in the New Zealand team for the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, placing sixteenth overall in the shot put.[8][9]
References
- ^ "Kaia Tupu-South". World Athletics. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Due South". Athletics.org.nz. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Shore athletes enjoy success at major summer meets". Rangitito Observer. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "2020 wasn't all bad!". Teroto.nz. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Hobbs Ignites Opening Of Track And Field Champs". Scoop.co.nz. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
- ^ "Throwers and sprinters take centre stage for big weekend of competitions". Athletics.org.nz. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "New Zealand Championships". World Athletics. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Record-Breaking Team for 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing Announced". Athletics.org. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "World Athletics Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 14 August 2025.