Maka Unufe: Mormon Athlete

Make Unufe is a rugby player with the United States national rugby sevens team. He competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 1924 Olympic Games was the last time that rugby was included in the event lineup. Then it was a 15-player team event. In 2016, teams consisting of seven players create an intense, quick competition.

Unufe is a former Provo High School football star (Utah). He switched to rugby after he dropped out of high school and joined the United Rugby Club and Utah Warriors. He then played or the Eagles’ sevens team and made his debut in the 2011 Pan American Games. He made his Sevens World Series debut at the 2012 Wellington Sevens.

In the preliminaries at the 2016 Olympic Games, the USA Rugby team lost to Argentina and Fiji, while beating Brazil in the semifinals. They beat Spain 24-12 to place ninth overall. 

Unufe is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Rebecca, are the parents of three children.