Tilali Scanlan

Tilali Scanlan
Scanlan at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full nameTilali Rose Leslie Scanlan
NationalityAmerican Samoan
Born (1999-11-03) November 3, 1999
Vaitogi, American Samoa
Scientific career
Education
Fields
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke

Tilali Rose Leslie Scanlan (born November 3, 1999) is an American Samoan swimmer. She competed in the women's 100 meter breaststroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Following her Olympic career, Scanlan became a marine and coastal environmental studies researcher.

Scanlan was born in Vaitogi, American Samoa, on November 3, 1999, the seventh of eight children. She was homeschooled for most of her education until college, and participated in various sports growing up, including swimming and judo.[1][2] Scanlan was the youngest competitor at the 2011 Pacific Games, where she completed in swimming.[3][4] She also represented American Samoa as a cadet (U18) at the 2014 Oceania Judo Union Championships.[5] In swimming, Scanlan has competed in various World Aquatics events, including the 2016 World 25 m Swimming Championships, 2017 World Championships, 2018 World 25 m Swimming Championships, and 2019 World Championships. She represented American Samoa at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she was the flag bearer for American Samoa at the opening ceremony and swam the women's 100 m breaststroke, placing 32nd.[1] Following the Olympics, Scanlan began focusing more on her research pursuits, stating on Instagram that she would "take a momentary pause for a much needed physical and mental break" from swimming.[6]

She had moved from American Samoa to Wellington, New Zealand, in 2016 to further her swimming career as there was no Olympic-size swimming pool anywhere in American Samoa. While in Wellington, Scanlan studied marine biology at Victoria University of Wellington.[7] In 2017, she was named Pasifika Sportsperson of the Year and Victoria University Sportsperson of the Year at an award ceremony by the university.[8][9] She completed her bachelor's degree in marine science with a focus on coral reef ecology at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji.[10] When borders closed for a time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Scanlan was stranded in Fiji with no way to return to American Samoa or elsewhere in the U.S.[11] She later went to Hawaii, where she took courses online and trained for the Olympics.[10]

After her graduation from university, from 2022 to 2024 Scanlan worked as a National Coral Reef Management Fellow[12] – funded by a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Nova Southeastern University[13] – working with the American Samoa Coral Reef Advisory Group on coral restoration in the village of Aua and teaching coral identification across the territory.[14][15] Scanlan joined the 2024 cohort of graduate students at Western Washington University's College of the Environment, where she received an M.A. degree in environmental studies with a policy specialization, advised by Rebekah Paci-Green.[16] In 2025, she worked as a research assistant under Paci-Green, studying the coastal residents of Hilo, Hawaii's perception of building deterioration and seismic hazards.[17] She has been noted by the International Olympic Committee and the Lewis Pugh Foundation as a notable sports figure serving as a sustainability leader.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Tilali Scanlan". Olympedia. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  2. ^ Moffitt, Nerelle (February 9, 2019). "Meet Tilali Scanlan". Nerelle.com. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  3. ^ "Résultats: 14es Jeux du Pacifique" [Results: 14th Pacific Games] (PDF) (in French). Fédération Française de Natation. Retrieved February 17, 2026 – via Fiji Swimming.
  4. ^ "Local swimmer Tilali Scanlan ready for world championships". Talanei. July 20, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  5. ^ "Tilali Scanlan". International Judo Federation. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  6. ^ Scanlan, Tilali (July 31, 2021). "10 years ago I was the youngest competitor at the Pacific Games in New Caledonia representing American Samoa in swimming. Now, I am o-fish-ally an OLYMPIAN". Retrieved February 18, 2026 – via Instagram.
  7. ^ Low, Lin Fhoong (July 28, 2017). "No pool back home but everything's going swimmingly for Tilali". Today. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  8. ^ "Congratulations to Tilali Scanlan who was named Sportsperson of the Year and Pasifika Sportsperson of the Year at the Blues Awards ceremony last night". Victoria University of Wellington. September 21, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2026 – via Facebook.
  9. ^ "Tilali Scanlan wins top sports awards at Victoria Uni". Talanei. September 21, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  10. ^ a b Spikes, Allie (November 24, 2025). "Olympic Swimmer and WWU grad student Tilali Scanlan takes on coastal hazards in American Samoa". WWU News. Western Washington University. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  11. ^ Ewart, Richard (April 28, 2020). "Olympic hopeful cut off from home and family". ABC Pacific. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  12. ^ "2022–2024 Fellow Profiles" (PDF). National Coral Reef Management Fellowship. NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  13. ^ Scanlan, Tilali (May 2022). "American Samoa". National Coral Reef Management Fellowship Newsletter. 4 (1). Nova Southeastern University: 2.
  14. ^ "Team". American Samoa Coral Reef Advisory Group. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  15. ^ Noren, Lara; Scanlan, Tilali; Perez, Elly; Quichocho, Camille (October 12, 2023). "Coral Management Fellows in the Pacific Coral Reef Jurisdictions". NOAA Science Seminar Series. Center for Satellite Applications and Research. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  16. ^ "Graduate Student Photos/Bios". College of the Environment. Western Washington University. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  17. ^ "Student Involvement". Rebekah Paci-Green. Western Washington University. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
  18. ^ Merrell, Chloe (March 8, 2022). "International Women's Day 2022 – The female Olympians leading the charge for sustainability". Olympics.com. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  19. ^ "Tilali Scanlan: Olympic reef protector". Lewis Pugh Foundation. Retrieved February 18, 2026.
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