Daniel Tolosa (far right) will proudly represent the Cook Islands at the upcoming Polynesian Games. Photo credit: Casey Sims/Oceania Athletics.
By Michelle Curran
Executive Communications Manager, Pasifika TV/PCBL
Proud Kūki ‘Āirani track athlete Daniel Tolosa has a need for speed – and it runs in the family.
Over the past decade, the 20-year-old from Rarotonga has risen in the ranks in track events, having discovered he had inherited his father and grandfather’s talent for running, as well as a fierce competitive streak.
“I grew up playing all kinds of sports and found that I had a talent for running,” Daniel says.
“I also come from a line of runners and decided I had to be better than my papa and my dad.”
Daniel set about claiming numerous youth records and is a three-time Cook Islands national champion in the 60m dash.
After an injury-ridden start to the current athletics season, Daniel achieved a career highlight in February, at the Sir Graeme Douglas International, as part of the Summer Circuit in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
He broke the Cook Islands 60m national record, of which he had held previously, by 0.03seconds, to cross the finish line in 7.09 seconds.
“Breaking that record after a rough start to the season with injuries and still pulling it off felt good – God really strengthened me in that race,” Daniel says.
His previous mark of 7.12 seconds had been set at the 2025 World Indoor Championships.
The event is extremely competitive, rising in popularity after recent World Athletics regulation changes, allowing athletes to qualify for the World Indoor Championships through equivalent outdoor races, now classified as short track.
For Daniel, who keeps getting faster and faster, it is a pathway to hopefully contesting the likes of the 2026 Oceania Athletics Championships in Darwin in May and this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, in July/August, and ultimately the 2028 and 2032 Olympic Games.
Rising track star Daniel Tolosa. Photo credit: Casey Sims/Oceania Athletics.
He will have another opportunity to impress at the revived Polynesian Track and Field Championships, which has been incorporated into the 2026 New Zealand Track and Field Championships, taking place from March 5-8, at The Trusts Arena in Auckland.
Over 100 Polynesian athletes will contest the championships, which was last staged 10 years ago, and is a meaningful step forward in strengthening ties across the Pacific, while creating new opportunities for athletes, coaches, and officials from the region.
For Daniel, the Polynesian Championships is not only an event where Pacific athletes can compete, but where they can showcase values, culture and competitive spirit through athletic contests.
“These competitions are important for us as athletes to grow and for others to be inspired to go the distance in whatever they decide to pursue,” he says.
“Whenever I compete whether on the international stage or a small local meet I remember where I come from, and the community I was raised in.
It has been a big part of who I am today and when I step onto the track, it reflects the boy who grew up in the Islands, shaped by strong Kuki values and unwavering faith.”
More exposure to meets such as the Polynesian Championships, is needed to entice Pacific youth into competing in track and field, Daniel adds.
“Growing up in Raro, there were only two or three times in a whole year when we could compete in track and field.
“We train a lot but there is a lack of actual competition, which is ultimately the fun part.
“Somewhere where young athletes could compete and thrive in our homelands might grow a generation of Pacific people to love to compete and watch athletics.”
Meanwhile, the Polynesian Championships programme will include standalone 100m finals for men and women exclusively for Polynesian nations.
These championship races, alongside the men’s discus, will be staged as part of Track Stars, Aotearoa New Zealand’s premier athletics entertainment show, broadcast live and free on TVNZ 1 and streaming on TVNZ+.
Free General Admission tickets for Track Stars are now available online, as well as spectator tickets for all four days of the New Zealand Track and Field Championships, incorporating the Polynesian Track and Field Championships.
Fans can watch Track Stars from home live and free on TVNZ One or streaming on TVNZ+ or via Pasifika TV in the wider Pacific region.