Kaia Tupu-South

Kaia Tupu-South throws the shot put at the 2026 PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational

Photo by: Eli Dych | Louisville Athletics

Class:
Redshirt Senior
High School:
Westlake
Hometown:
Auckland, New Zealand
Prev School:
Washington

Kaia Tupu-South TFRRS Profile

CAREER HONORS (Louisville)
• ACC Indoor Bronze Medalist, Shot Put (2026)
• All-ACC Indoor First Team, Shot Put (2026)

CAREER HONORS (Washington)
• Pac-12 Outdoor Bronze Medalist, Shot Put (2023)
• NCAA West Regional Qualifier, Shot Put (2023, 2024, 2025)
• NCAA West Regional Qualifier, Discus Throw (2023, 2024, 2025)

2025-26
Indoor:
• Competed in the shot put at five meets
• Claimed the bronze medal at the ACC Indoor Championships with a final mark of 16.78m (55-0.75)
• Recorded a season-best toss of 17.05m (55-11.25) to finish as the runner-up at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational while moving up to fourth in program history
• Set a new meet record at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic in her Louisville debut with a mark of 16.46m (54-0)

2022-25 (Washington):
• Earned the bronze medal in the shot put at the 2023 Pac-12 Outdoor Championships
• Broke both program records in the shot put during the 2025 outdoor season with an indoor mark of 17.60m (57-9) and an outdoor mark of 17.33m (56-10.25)
• Qualified for the NCAA West Regional in both the shot put and discus for three straight seasons, placing as high as 13th in the shot put in 2023 and 21st in the discus in 2024

National:
• Represented New Zealand at the 2025 World Athletics Indoor Championships, placing 16th in the shot put

Personal:
• Majoring in mechanical engineering