Born in Oulu to a Finnish mother and an Ivorian father, she lived in Finland until moving to Norway at nine years old.

Another local competition qualified her for the 2021 European Weightlifting Championships, where she then earned a bronze medal and set new national records.

Solfrid Eila Amena Koanda was born on 13 November 1998[2] to a Finnish mother and an Ivorian father in Oulu, Finland.

Due to this, she often disregarded her friends invites to participate in football or handball and trained alone in a weight room instead.

At the competition, the 2020 Norwegian Weightlifting Championships [no] in Vigrestad, she placed second and set a new national record in the clean and jerk with 114 kilograms.

[7] Koanda made her international debut in April at the 2021 European Weightlifting Championships in Moscow, Russia, competing in the women's 87 kg event.

[11] Five months later, she competed at the 2022 European Weightlifting Championships in Tirana, Albania, in the women's 87 kg event.

[5][13] In August, Koanda suffered a stress fracture in her wrist which limited her training with a stick then progressing to the barbell until November, a few weeks before the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships in Bogotá, Colombia.

[19] Later that month, she retained her title in the women's 87 kg event at the 2023 European Championships held in Yerevan.

[20] It was her last competition before cutting weight for the 2023 IWF Grand Prix I in Havana, Cuba, where she competed in the women's 81 kg event to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

[23] Koanda opened up her 2024 season by competing at the 2024 European Weightlifting Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, in the women's 87 kg event.