Caitlin Parker is the first Australian woman and wahine Māori to win an Olympic medal in boxing, coming away with bronze in the 75kg weight division in Paris.
“After 17 years of boxing and sacrificing and putting so much of myself into this sport, to come home with an Olympic medal and to have stood on the Olympic podium is just a dream come true,” she says.
The boxing champion was born and raised in Australia, but her whakapapa traces back to Horoera in Te Tairāwhiti. She also has Ngāti Kahungunu links through whāngai.
“I came back in January where I had a wānanga at Pakowhai,” she says.
“That was amazing [to] have that journey before the Olympics.”
She has used tikanga Māori culture to guide her through this campaign.
Karakia before every competition
“I’ve been doing a karakia before every competition and bringing my mum, my dad and my tupuna with me to walk beside me in this journey.”
Parker admits that this intrinsic connection is the secret to her success.
“It’s invoked and uplifted my spiritual wellbeing as well and provided me with the mauri to look after myself.”
The 28-year-old is no stranger to the international boxing stage, with many titles under her belt, including two Commonwealth Games medals.
But her boxing journey began as a child, when her father encouraged her to take up a combat sport.
“I wasn’t allowed to walk to school by myself until I could defend myself, so I had to get a blackbelt in Taekwondo,” she says.
Juggled sports
Parker eventually developed a passion for boxing.
“I loved it and I loved proving myself against the boys.”
She also played rugby in her early years and juggled the two sports as a youngster.
“Originally I thought I was gonna go to the Olympics for rugby and boxing - I thought I could do both.”
She says boxing provided her with more opportunities, representing Australia on the world stage from the age of 15.
Despite her Olympic victory, this journey has not come without its challenges.
“It can be hard financially. A lot of the time I have to rely on my tāne to pay the bills.”
“Luckily my community came together and we did some raffles at the pub [so I] was able to concentrate on my preparation.”
Parker acknowledges her whānau for their unwavering support, including her parents who worked multiple jobs to support her sporting endeavors.
Wants to live in Aotearoa
“They’ve just done the mahi for so long, sacrificed so much of themselves to get my brother and me to go to training, and to nationals to be able to compete, to get to where I am now. So this is only a little way for me to say thank you to them.”
Parker says most of her whānau reside in Aotearoa, and she hopes to reunite with them some day.
“I’ve always wanted to come back and live and I always feel so connected to home and all my whanau [is] there.”
“I don’t know what the future holds yet and what opportunities will come up in Australia.”
Parker’s Olympic dreams remain intact for the next competition in 2028.
“It’s always been a dream of mine [so] I wanna take a step further and get the gold medal hopefully if all goes well in L.A”