Fantastic Fiji 7s team claim first Olympic Gold for Pacific Islands
Friday, August 12, 2016 - 20:00
Tributes and congratulations were flowing on social media today for the fantastic Fiji Rugby 7s team after their Olympic Gold Medal win at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic this morning (Tonga time) as the Fijians made headlines around the world.
Please subscribe to access premium content.
Comments
Isn't the Paralympic Games
Isn't the Paralympic Games part of the Olympic Games? Haven't most Governments in the world agreed that we should all be working towards creating more inclusive societies in every country? If this is the case, then Fiji's first gold medal was won by Iliesa Delana at the 2012 Paralympics in London. Iliesa is now a member of Fiji's Parliament. Amongst the many "prizes/" given to Iliesa Delana for his incredible feat was having his photo on a Fiji 50 cent coin. His prize winning jump can be viewed at: .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khhvxWuYHHs
Google and you will learn more about this inspirational athlete.
He was given the medal by the Crown Prince of Denmark who is an Olympiad in yachting. google and yo'u can see this as well.
Stephen, Thank you for
Stephen, Thank you for comment and interest in the Paralympics. Tonga will be sending a couple of athletes to Rio shortly for the Paralympics. Any assistance from supporters would be most welcomed. To answer your questions No the Paralympics is not part of the Olympic Games. It is held 2 weeks generally after the Olympics in the same city. The Paralympics started officially in Rome in 1960 and was founded by a Dr. Guttmann who on 29 July 1948, the day of the Opening Ceremony of the London 1948 Olympic Games, organised the first competition for wheelchair athletes which he named the Stoke Mandeville Games, a milestone in Paralympics history. They involved 16 injured servicemen and women who took part in archery.
The Commonwealth Games have some integration of disabled athletes but now the Commonwealth disabled games has been renamed the Far East South Pacific Games for the Disabled. How do i know this, I competed in these games back in 1989 in Japan and 1994 in China winning a Gold and Bronze medal in swimming respectively. Now a Naturalised Tongan I have been here for 10 years and am a founding and life member of the Tongan Swimming and Aquatics Association which we helped establish so we could teach Tongans to swim and for exercise for Tongans to get/keep fit. We currently have 2 squads in Nuku'alofa both teaching Learn to swim.
Malo Michael O