Former Trinity High star & UT shot put champion dies awaiting organ transplant

EULESS – Eileen Vanisi, one of the most decorated Polynesian track and field stars in United States history, died this week while awaiting a triple-organ transplant, her sister announced Friday.

Vanisi, a former three-time NCAA shot put champion at the University of Texas, excelled at Trinity High School, where her shot put and discus records remain 35 years after she set them.

She went on to win two more national titles at the 1994 NCAA championship. Her mark of 60 feet, 1/2 inches remains a UT record. She was preparing to head to the Olympics until health issues deterred her dreams.

Doctors couldn't figure out the issue with her heart after she had a heart attack in 2001. She had a valve replacement in 2004 and eventually went to see a heart failure specialist in 2018. She defied the odds and doctors' predictions for more than two decades.

Vanisi, whose mother emigrated from Tonga and raised her family as a single mother, was featured in a February 2024 article .

"After years of battling heart failure and later kidney and liver failure, Eileen had succumbed to a blood infection and took her last breath around 9 p.m. (Thursday), surrounded by family," said Emalata Ahovelo, Vanisi's sister. "Despite her struggles, in her testimony, she knew 'my faith and prayer would give me peace, and whatever decisions Heavenly Father put before me would be right.' Our family is deeply saddened at her passing, but she is now in peace and pain free."