Mataika Tuicakau
![]() Tuicakau at the 1950 British Empire Games | |||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
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Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Shot put, discus throw | ||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Personal best | SP – 15.48 m (1951)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Mataika Tuicakau was a Fijian track and field athlete who competed in the shot put and discus throw events.
Born on Tovu, Totoya on the Lau Islands of Fiji, Tuicakau was a tall athlete who excelled at throwing events.[2] He was the first Fijian to have success internationally in the sport of athletics.[3][4] At the 1950 British Empire Games he threw 14.64 m (48 ft 1⁄4 in) in the shot put to hold off England's Harold Moody and be declared the champion. He also claimed a silver medal in the discus behind Ian Reed of Australia, who broke the games record in the process.[5][6]
He was the first gold medallist for Fiji at the Commonwealth Games and remains their only athletics winner in the tournament's history.[7] The shot put national record of 15.48 m (50 ft 9+1⁄4 in) he set in Suva in 1951 stood for over 50 years.[8] He was the first entrant into the Fiji Sports Hall of Fame alongside rugby player Josefa Levula.[9]
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ Mataika Tuicakau at World Athletics at the Wayback Machine (archived 2018-07-06)
- ^ Charter Inductee 1990 Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
- ^ Matthews, Peter (2012). Historical Dictionary of Track and Field. Scarecrow Press, p. 81. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
- ^ Rakoko, Kameli (2015-01-12). The priceless moment. The Fiji Times. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
- ^ Commonwealth Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
- ^ Games Results for Mataika Tuicakau. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
- ^ Fiji. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
- ^ Legends Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics (Fiji) Charter Inductee 1990 Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics. Oceania Sports Information Centre. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
- ^ Fiji Sports Hall of Fame. Sporting Pulse. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
External links
- Mataika Tuicakau at World Athletics at the Wayback Machine (archived 2018-07-06)
- v
- t
- e
- 1930:
Harry Hart (SAF)
- 1934:
Harry Hart (SAF)
- 1938:
Louis Fouché (SAF)
- 1950:
Mataika Tuicakau (FIJ)
- 1954:
John Savidge (ENG)
- 1958:
Arthur Rowe (ENG)
- 1962:
Martyn Lucking (ENG)
- 1966:
Dave Steen (CAN)
- 1970:
Dave Steen (CAN)
- 1974:
Geoff Capes (ENG)
- 1978:
Geoff Capes (ENG)
- 1982:
Bruno Pauletto (CAN)
- 1986:
Billy Cole (ENG)
- 1990:
Simon Williams (ENG)
- 1994:
Matt Simson (ENG)
- 1998:
Burger Lambrechts (RSA)
- 2002:
Justin Anlezark (AUS)
- 2006:
Janus Robberts (RSA)
- 2010:
Dylan Armstrong (CAN)
- 2014:
O'Dayne Richards (JAM)
- 2018:
Tom Walsh (NZL)
- 2022:
Tom Walsh (NZL)