Makeleta Stephan

Makeleta Stephan
Makeleta Stephan (2015)
nation	Tonga
birthday	May 23, 1978
place of birth	Tonga
Career
National squad	since 2015
status	active
last change: February 23, 2015

Makeleta Stephan (* 23. May 1978 as Makeleta Piukala in Tonga ) is a Tongan cross-country skier and the first athlete (and athletes) from Tonga, which in this discipline at the Nordic World Ski Championships started.

Athletic career

Makeleta Stephan studied theology , has lived in Germany since 2000 and has lived in Großstadelhofen , a district of Pfullendorf in Baden-Württemberg , since the early 2010s . She was mainly active in half marathons .

In her home country, the South Pacific island nation of Tonga , the Royal Tonga Ski Federation was founded in autumn 2014 on the initiative of Princess Salote Mafileò Pilolevu Tuita, daughter of the former king of Tonga Taufaʻahau Tupou IV. (1918-2006) . This was recognized by the World Ski Federation on October 2, 2014 . Stephan was asked in November 2014 whether she wanted to be the first Tongan cross-country skier to take part in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea . A talent scout noticed her participation in the Munich Marathon on October 12, 2014 and sought contact.

On January 17, 2015 Stephan began under the guidance of a local coach in Pfullendorf with training on cross-country skis to the Nordic World Ski Championships take that from 18 February to 1 March 2015 in the Swedish Falun held. For her participation, she quit her job. Stephan, the only participating athlete in the country, carried the national flag at the opening ceremony. She started in the sprint race and finished 94th and last place, 7: 29.78 minutes behind the winner. Stephan financed the trip to the world championships in Falun himself, only the equipment was provided by a sponsor . At the Nordic World Ski Championships 2017 in Lahti , she started again in the sprint. She achieved 105th place out of 107 runners.

According to her own statements, Makeleta Stephan also wants to encourage her compatriots to exercise more with her sporting commitment. In Tonga, around 70 percent of the population is considered obese.

Private

Makeleta Stephan was born in Tonga as the second youngest child of nine siblings. Three of her siblings live in Tonga, the rest now in Australia. Stephan came to Germany because of a man, now she lives in a new partnership. Until she took part in the World Cup, she worked in the company's own catering at the Kramer-Werke in Pfullendorf.

Web links

• Makeleta Stephan in the database of the International Ski Federation (English)
• Melanie Haak: The proud cross-country skier who came from the South Pacific . In: Die Welt from February 19, 2015
• Andreas Köstler: cross-country skier from Tonga. Exotin is training for the World Cup in Pfullendorf . In: SWR television , series Landesschau aktuell from February 12, 2015 (with video stream , 3:33 min)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jaakko Parkkinen: Tongalainen MM-sprintteri lähe ensi kertaa kisaladulle - "Haluan pysyä pystyssä". In: Yle Urheilu . February 18, 2015, accessed February 23, 2015 (Finnish). 
2. ^ ^{A b} Siegfried Volk: Pfullendorf: Pfullendorferin from Tonga starts at the Nordic World Ski Championships. In: Südkurier.de . February 5, 2015, accessed February 14, 2015 . 
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} Oliver Kothmann: Pfullendorferin starts for Tonga. In: Schwäbische.de . October 2, 2014, accessed February 14, 2015 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Melanie Haak: The proud cross-country skier who came from the South Pacific. In: The world . February 19, 2015, accessed February 24, 2015 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b} ( dpa ): Untypical: Makeleta Stephan stands for Tonga on skis. In: FR Online . February 18, 2015, accessed February 24, 2015 . 
6. ↑ Schedule and start lists → February 19 → Cross Country → Sprint Ladies (C) → Stephan, Makelata. (No longer available online.) In: Official website of the Nordic World Ski Championships 2015 in Falun, Sweden (falun2015.com) . Archived from the original on February 21, 2015 ; accessed on February 24, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ ( dpa ): Celebrated like a winner: Tongan sprint last. February 19, 2015, accessed February 24, 2015 . 
8. ↑ Result of the Sprint World Championship 2017
9. ^ Andreas Köstler: Cross-country skier from Tonga. Exotin is training for the World Cup in Pfullendorf. In: SWR television , broadcast series Landesschau aktuell . February 12, 2015, accessed on February 24, 2015 (with video stream , 3:33 min).