Mataika Tuicakau
Tuicakau at the 1950 British Empire Games
Sport
SportAthletics
Event(s)Shot put, discus throw
Achievements and titles
Personal bestSP – 15.48 m (1951)[1]
Medal record
Representing  Fiji
1950 British Empire Games
Gold medal – first place1950 AucklandShot put
Silver medal – second place1950 AucklandDiscus throw

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mataika Tuicakau.
  1. ↑ Mataika Tuicakau at World Athletics at the Wayback Machine (archived 2018-07-06)
  2. ↑ Charter Inductee 1990 Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
  3. ↑ Matthews, Peter (2012). Historical Dictionary of Track and Field. Scarecrow Press, p. 81. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
  4. ↑ Rakoko, Kameli (2015-01-12). The priceless moment. The Fiji Times. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
  5. ↑ Commonwealth Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
  6. ↑ Games Results for Mataika Tuicakau. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
  7. ↑ Fiji. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
  8. ↑ Legends Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics (Fiji) Charter Inductee 1990 Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics. Oceania Sports Information Centre. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
  9. ↑ Fiji Sports Hall of Fame. Sporting Pulse. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
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