Samoa’s Olympic boxing coach dies in athletes’ village at Paris Games

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Lionel Fatu Elika, the national boxing coach of Samoa, died Friday at the Paris Olympics, the International Boxing Association announced Saturday. Elika was 60 years old.

Samoa’s lone boxer at the Games, heavyweight Ato Plodzicki-Faoagali, said on Facebook that Elika “was a kind and generous coach, not only with his time, material things, but also his knowledge.”

“I first met coach Lionel when I was 15 trialing for Samoa’s youth team,” Plodzicki-Faoagali wrote.

“You will be sorely missed coach, your dream was to attend an Olympics with me and dad, now you’ve left too early we haven’t had our first fight at the Olympics like we planned!”

Elika died in the athletes’ Olympic Village, the Samoa Association of Sport and National Olympic Committee (SASNOC) said in a statement. SASNOC did not release an official cause of death.

“Lionel was one of Samoa’s top boxing coaches and a great believer in the Olympic ideal,” Samoa NOC president Pauga Talalelei Pauga said.

According to the SASNOC statement, Pauga and SASNOC Secretary General Maureen Tuimalealiifano met with the Samoan delegation for a briefing and team prayer.

“Lionel’s dedication and passion for the sport have left an indelible mark on the boxing community,” the IBA said in a statement. “His legacy will continue to inspire future generations. Our thoughts and prayers are with Team Samoa and all those affected by this profound loss.”

Plodzicki-Faoagali is a two-time Pacific Games champion and will face Belgium’s Victor Schelstraete on Sunday. Plodzicki-Faoagali also won two silver medals at the Commonwealth Games and represented Samoa in the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

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(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)