
The upcoming Tokyo Olympics will be different in many ways from years past. Fans will not be allowed to attend, for one.
But on a brighter note, this will be the first time that a female weightlifter will represent Tonga at the games.
20-year-old Kuinini Manumua of San Francisco will be competing as a weightlifter in the Tokyo Olympics, according to reporting by KTVU.
Manumua started lifting weights when she was just 13-years-old at Lincoln High school in San Francisco.
She credits her success to her coaches and her family.
"It's very empowering for a girl to do lifting. It makes me feel strong," said Manumua.
It was a long road to get to this point for Manumua. She was born in American Samoa and moved with her family to live in her parents' home country of Tonga, and then came to San Francisco at age 10.
The family lives in public housing in the Hunter's Point neighborhood.
She is also the first in her family to attend college.
"To have the background that she has, to make it to the Olympics, I don't know what better story there is," says her coach Ben Hwa, who will be travelling with her to the Tokyo Olympics.
It almost didn’t happen for her. Llast July, Manumua fractured her left knee and couldn't lift.
But through her perseverance and dedication, she was back to training again just three months later.
The hard work paid off. Manumua will be representing Tonga in the Olympics, a tribute to her heritage.
"There's never been a Tongan female weightlifter. I actually don't see any poly girls lifting," Manumua says, "It amazes me that I'm even going to the Olympics."