Para-athlete Irene Mar has made history by achieving a ranking of seventh in the world after her outstanding performance at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. Competing in Para-taekwondo, Mar was the sole representative from the Oceania region during the first week and came impressively close to securing a medal.
The 19-year-old, a former student of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School, amazed spectators at the Grand Palais by defeating the highly-ranked Ukrainian athlete Yuliya Lypetska with a score of 25–3 in the women’s K44-57kg category. She advanced to the quarter-finals but faced defeat against Turkey’s Gamze Gurdal.
Continuing her campaign, Mar competed for bronze in the repechage round but was ultimately bested by Kamilya Dosmalova of Kazakhstan. Additionally, Mar proudly served as Team Fiji’s flagbearer during the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games.
Mar is the third woman from Fiji to participate in the sport of taekwondo at both the Olympic and Paralympic levels, joining the ranks of Venice Traill and Lolohea Naitasi, who represented Fiji at the Olympics in July.