Para-athlete Irene Mar has achieved a remarkable milestone by securing the seventh rank in the world following her impressive performance at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. Competing in Para-taekwondo, Mar was the only athlete from the Oceania region during the first week to come close to winning a medal.
The 19-year-old, a former student of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School, captivated the audience at the Grand Palais by defeating the highly-ranked Ukrainian competitor Yuliya Lypetska with a score of 25–3 in the women’s K44-57kg category. Mar advanced to the quarter-finals but was defeated by Turkey’s Gamze Gurdal.
Continuing her pursuit for a medal, she competed in the repechage for bronze but was ultimately bested by Kamilya Dosmalova from Kazakhstan. Mar also had the honor of being Team Fiji’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
She is now one of only three women from Fiji to compete in tae kwon do at both the Olympic and Paralympic levels, alongside Venice Traill and Lolohea Naitasi, who participated in the Olympics in July.