Alethea Boon has taken on the best at the Commonwealth Games and she is now battling as Elektra in the Gladiators revival.

While Elektra may be one of the smaller Gladiators in a sea of beefy co-stars, she’s still a force to be reckoned with.

Alethea was originally a gymnast

Alethea represented New Zealand in artistic gymnastics at the 1998 Commonwealth Games where she was the country’s youngest competitor in the sport.

“Ever since I watched Nikki Jenkins win gold [in the women’s vault] at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, I set my sights on making it to the Commonwealth Games for gymnastics,” Aletha told Stuff.co.nz in 2018.

She also competed at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

A serious health condition led to Alethea’s weightlifting career

Aletha suffered a blockage in the arteries of her lungs (known as a bilateral embolism) after surgery in 2010 and she was initially unable to walk due to lack of breath. 

Determined to recover, the athlete focussed on building her strength before transitioning into CrossFit. Her interest in the sport led to her avid interest in weightlifting, which she was hugely successful at.

Aletha returned to the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and competed as a weightlifter.

“I was so bad at it and thought ‘why not try and learn more about it?’, so I started going to a club and competing in 2014. Started competing in weightlifting at age 30 – who would have thought?” She told Stuff.

The gladiator competed in the CrossFit Games from 2015-2020, and came 5th in the Games in 2019.

Meanwhile, she achieved two 2nd-place finishes in the Australian Weightlifting Open, and the 2017 Oceania Weightlifting Championships.

Where is Alethea from?

Boon was born in Suva, Fiji, and grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. She gave birth to her daughter eight months before becoming a Gladiator.

Gladiators Australia 2024 airs on Sundays at 7:30pm on Channel 10 and 10Play.

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