Paris 2024 Olympics: Boxer Teremoana hopes to write his name in history as he goes for Australia gold 

The Olympic Games Paris 2024 is where the personal goals of many will live or die. But Team Australia’s Teremoana Junior has already marked one of his goals as a success, long before he has stepped into the boxing ring.

The 26-year-old super heavyweight will make his Olympic debut at Paris 2024 and is a serious contender for a gold medal after his defeat of NSW boxer Elvino Maroulis to become the Australian super heavyweight champion.

Teremoana secured his spot to the French capital at the Pacific Games, where he stopped Elijah Mercury-Leafa in the second round of the men’s +92kg final.

Teremoana is of Cook Islands heritage and first started boxing at the age of 12. He was introduced to the sport by his father in order to look after his older sisters, but it wasn’t until he suffered the loss of his grandfather in 2018 that he seriously considered boxing as a viable career.

“After I turned 21, I just looked at everything and thought, ‘Nah, stuff this, I’m going to give it a go, give it a crack, because what can you lose?’” he told Olympics.com.

Between 2020 and 2022, Teremoana fought in four professional fights and won them all. He now heads to Paris as part of Team Australia’s largest-ever Olympic boxing team.

Although he is yet to contend for an Olympic medal, Teremoana says he has already ticked off one of his personal goals - just by being here in Paris.

“Now we’re here, we’ve qualified and this is just another step towards my personal goal, which is to put my grandfather’s name down into history, which is my family name, which is my name,” he said.

“When you asked me a question today, you said, ‘Teremoana’. My name is being said in Paris, in another country and for me that’s success. I think of it like I’ve got a chisel, I’m chiselling my name into stone and every time I succeed it gets deeper and you can see it more clearly.”

And the chance to chisel his name even further into Olympic history is edging closer as the 6ft 6in fighter prepares to take on the defending Olympic and Asian Games champion Bakhodir Jalolov of Uzbekistan.

Teremoana fell to defeat against Jalolov in the 2023 World Championships, so the next goal on his list is simple: “To avenge it.”