KEY POINTS:
The mother of top New Zealand athlete Beatrice Faumuina is defending her daughter in the face of a disappointing and bizarre exit from the Olympics and harsh media criticism.
Faumuina, a former discus world champion, finished a distant 28th in Beijing, and saved some of her strength to throw a few insults at the media. It then transpired she wanted to return home early, rather than travel with the Kiwi Olympics team.
Roini Faumuina said last night she felt her daughter was being picked on. "I was watching the TV and someone made a comment, 'Oh, Beatrice doesn't look like she has the face of someone who's now 28th'. Well what do they expect? You can't cry on international TV. I just said, 'Go girl, you are doing well'.
"It doesn't matter what the world thinks about my daughter. She will always be my daughter. I will always love her."
Beatrice Faumuina rebuked the media after her performance last week, saying: "Regardless of whether you guys write me off or whatever, you did that last year and not only insulted, or disappointed myself, but my family. But I came back and I'm looking forward to next year. You can't take this moment away from me, no matter how much you write it off."
Roini Faumuina said Beatrice, 33, would return with the team on Tuesday, after reports said she had wanted to get on an earlier flight. She had been told she'd have to pay for that herself.
"There's some big mouth wherever the athletics is and [they have] rung someone in the media and said, 'Oh now she's trying to get out early'," said Roini Faumuina.
"I think that's where all that stems from. They broke a confidentiality. The thing is if you were to talk to Athletics NZ, these things are supposed to be confidential. Who can you trust?
"Beatrice gave it her best, but it wasn't to be."
