If there's one thing Tupou Neiufi loves more than sport, it's proving people wrong.
Neiufi was left with hemiplegia and a traumatic brain injury after being hit by a car when she was just two years old.
Since that day, she's struggled internally to accept her limitations and differences. Her left side is weaker and smaller than her right and her brain injury means that she tires quickly.
But driven by the thrill of proving her disability won't ever get the best of her, Neiufi has made a name for herself in the sporting world, and is now one of New Zealand's most promising para swimmers.
"Being underestimated I became determined to show that I can do it and I can do it just as well as the other kids," Neiufi says.
"I just want to do everything and anything I can do to make [my family] proud and show them I can that I can do something with my life despite my disability and despite what anyone else says."
Neiufi received her first world championship medal, a silver in the S8 100m backstroke, in London last September - three years on from competing at the Rio Paralympic Games.
It's far from the sporting code she imagined she'd be part of, however, admitting she had always wanted to play netball.
"I couldn't keep up with the other girls because of my leg splint and my hand splints," she says."There was that restriction with catching the ball and running."
It wasn't until her physio mentioned swimming as a sport that Neiufi hesitantly gave it a go.
"At first I was like 'what do you mean swimming? That's kind of weird'," Neiufi laughs. "But [my physio] said with swimming it would be good for rehab.
"After the first swimming lesson I just absolutely fell in love with the sport.
"It was just the freedom in the water when swimming [because] you can't wear your hand splits or leg splints. It just gave me that thrill and I absolutely loved it."
Neiufi hasn't looked back since.
She was just 15 years old when she was selected to represent New Zealand at the Rio Games - where she qualified for the women's S9 100m backstroke final and finished seventh.
It was an eye-opening experience.
"Going to the Paralympic Games in Rio was a massive experience for me, I learnt a lot from the top swimmers in the world," she says.
"It was amazing and knowing that we all work just as hard as each other to get to that stage."
Neiufi competed at last year's Commonwealth Games where she again finished seventh in S9 100m backstroke final.
Although admitting disappointment at the time, Neiufi knows she's only at the beginning of her career and has used it as motivation when training for the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics.
With the future looking bright, Neiufi says she has newly-found gratitude for her disability.
"If it wasn't for my disability I know for a fact that I wouldn't be here today and having all these different opportunities, I wouldn't have even discovered swimming as a sport," she says.
"There are times where I tend to doubt myself, although I have those thoughts about being different, I actually wouldn't change it for the world."
Toyota is a major partner of Paralympics New Zealand, helping Kiwis to 'Start Your Impossible'.