Filomenaleonisa Iakopo
Filomenaleonisa Iakopo is an American Samoan sprinter born on February 10, 2006, in the Northern Mariana Islands. She is of Chamorro and American Samoan descent and became the first athlete from the CNMI to compete in the Summer Olympics. She ran the 100 metres and 200 metres and was the flag bearer for American Samoa at the 2024 Olympics.
Iakopo started competing in athletics in seventh grade. Her father coached her for a time before hiring Olympian Peter Pulu to help train her. She has also taken part in bodybuilding, competing in the 2021 Dee Clayton Classic with her father.
She attended Kagman High School in Saipan, graduating in 2024 in the top 10 of her class. While in high school, she set several American Samoan records in the 100m and 200m and began competing internationally for American Samoa.
Her international career includes the 2022 Oceania Athletics Championships (her debut in the 100m and 200m, with her father also competing), the 2022 Pacific Mini Games, the 2023 Oceania Cup, the 2023 Pacific Games, and the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, as well as the 2024 Oceania Athletics Championships. She also set a national record in the 60 metres at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
After high school, Iakopo enrolled at Baylor University in 2024, pursuing a neuroscience degree. In July 2024, she was selected to compete in the 100 metres at the Summer Olympics and served as American Samoa’s flag bearer. She set an American Samoan national record of 12.78 seconds in the preliminary round of the 100 metres.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:01 (CET).