Student represents Samoa at Paris 2024
A third-year Sport and Recreation student from AUT is representing Samoa at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games!
Kaiya Brown, the talented 20 year-old majoring in Sports Management, is a swimmer competing in the women’s 50-metre freestyle races.
It is Kaiya’s debut at an Olympic Games after representing Samoa at last year's Pacific Games in seven separate races.
Commenting on her Olympic Games selection during a recent podcast, Kaiya said, “It all happened at once. I found out at lunchtime that day, didn’t tell anyone because I wanted to tell my parents first. So I kind of held all this excitement to myself.
“I made my phone calls before my Samoan team posted their big announcement. I made phone calls to my friends, family. Then they posted, and it was all in from there.
“The feedback was amazing, I got so many supportive messages and feedback. It was even cooler to see people who don’t follow me, see who I am, and support me,” she says.
Kaiya’s heats and finals in Paris will take place on the 3rd and 5th of August.
You can find out more about Kaiya and her journey to the 2024 Olympic Games in this recent podcast.