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Eric Fonoimoana
BIOGRAPHY
Eric Fonoimoana Some people call him "The Body", many people call him "Fonoi", and some simply say "E". Eric Fonoimoana (pronounced FOE-NO-E-MOW-AH-NA) is dedicated to excellence in the sport of beach volleyball.
After stellar performances on both the Manhattan Beach Mira Costa High School and University of California Santa Barbara volleyball teams, Fonoimoana hit the sands of the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) Tour in 1993.
By 1995, Fonoimoana had already earned his way into the top echelon of players on the AVP Tour. He began the 1998 AVP season by capturing the King of the Beach title - winning over the likes of Karch Kiraly, Jose Loiola, and Adam Johnson!
In 1998, Fonoimoana began competing on the FIVB (Federation of International Volleyball) Tour with partner Dain Blanton and won the Silver Medal in the FIVB Open in Klagenfurt, Austria that first year!
In 1999, Fonoimoana began his intense pursuit to represent the US in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Throughout 1999 and much of 2000, Fonoimoana and Blanton crisscrossed the nation and the world. They competed on both the US Tours and the FIVB World Tour seeking enough qualifying points to secure one of the two berths to compete for the USA in beach volleyball in Sydney. During this period, they won three events and came close to winning several others.
On August 13, 2000 Fonoimoana and Blanton made their way on to the medal podium in Belgium having earned the bronze medal in the FIVB Belgium Open. This semi-final finish was just in time to move them just ahead of Karch Kiraly and Adam Johnson - and qualify them for the Sydney Olympics.
On September 26, 2000 Fonoimoana and Blanton once again climbed onto the medal stand - this time in Sydney! They upset Brazilians Ze Marco and Ricardo to win the Olympic gold medal match and capture the gold medal for the USA!
Look for them to keep on winning in 2001 as Fonoi continues to "dig" his way to funding his Dig for Kids foundation.
Birthdate: June 7,
Birthplace: Torrance, CA
Hometown: Hermosa Beach, CA
Training Site: Manhattan Beach, CA
Height: 6'3 Weight: 203
College: UC Santa Barbara
High School: Mira Costa High School
Hobbies: Surfing, snowboarding, skiing, and all watersports.
Years Pro: 8
Tournament Victories: 7
Personal Info
Family: Father: Alio Fonoimoana (Constance Louise), siblings include Toa, Kirk, Scott, Debbie and Lelei.
Eric's sister, Lelei Alofa Fonoimoana, participated in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, placing seventh in the 100m Fly.
He is of Samoan descent.
He is the youngest of six children in the Fonoimoana family.
His goals for 1995: Buy a truck, save money for a house, and finish third place or higher.
Finished the 1995 season in the nine top five game tournament finishes.
Head coach of the Mira Costa High School junior varsity volleyball team.
He worksout Mondays through Thursdays, 3 to 5 hours a day. Exercises include endurance runs, pool workouts, and volleyball drills.
He thought it was great that his parents and siblings all attended Mira Costa High School, because by the time he started high school everyone already knew how to pronounce his last name "Fonoimoana" [FOE-NO-E-MOW-AH-NA].