Fiji participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9. [1]
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec Islands to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island is Ono-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the total population of 898,760. The capital, Suva, on Viti Levu, serves as the country's principal cruise-ship port. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry—or Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is paramount. Due to its terrain, the interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited.
The 2012 Summer Paralympics, the 14th Summer Paralympic Games, and also more generally known as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), that took place in London, United Kingdom from 29 August to 9 September 2012. These Paralympics were one of the largest multi-sport events ever held in the United Kingdom after the 2012 Summer Olympics, and until the date the largest Paralympics ever: 4,302 athletes from 164 National Paralympic Committees participated, with fourteen countries appearing in the Paralympics for the first time ever.
Two Fijians qualified for track and field events: Iliesa Delana and Lusiana Rogoimuri. [2] Following Rogoimuri's withdrawal due to an accident prior to the Games, however, Delana was Fiji's sole athlete in London. [3] [4] He was also Fiji's flag-bearer during the Games' opening ceremony. [5]
Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running, jumping, and throwing. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events. Track and field is categorized under the umbrella sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running, and race walking.
Iliesa Delana is a Fijian athlete, Member of the Parliament of Fiji, and Cabinet Minister. He was the first Fijian athlete to win a medal, gold in high jump, for Fiji at the Paralympics.
The 2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony was held on 29 August 2012, starting at 20:30 BST and marking the official opening of the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, England. The show – named Enlightenment – had Jenny Sealey and Bradley Hemmings as its artistic directors, leading a team that included Jon Bausor as set designer and Moritz Junge as costume designer. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Games. The ceremony was performed in the Olympic stadium in London in front of a capacity audience of 80,000 people.
Delana won the gold in the men's high jump F42, giving Fiji its first ever Paralympic or Olympic medal. It was only the second ever Paralympic medal (and the first gold) won by an athlete from a Pacific Island nation, following Francis Kompaon's silver in sprinting for Papua New Guinea in 2008. [6]
Francis Kompaon is a T46 Papua New Guinean athlete.
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania that occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The western half of New Guinea forms the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua.
Athletics
Iliesa Delana, a left leg amputee, [7] qualified to compete in the men's high jump, F42 category (for lower limb amputees [8] ). Delana was the opening ceremonies flag bearer for Fiji. [9] He had emerged as the "world number two" in his sport and category during qualifiers, giving his country hopes for its first ever Paralympic medal. [10] [11] [12] He won gold, with a jump of 1.74 metres, an Oceania regional record. Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda of India and Lukasz Mamczarz of Poland also cleared 1.74 metres, but while Delana cleared both 1.71m and 1.74m on his first attempt, Nagarajegowda took two attempts on 1.71, while Mamczarz only cleared 1.74 on his third attempt. [7] [13]
Lusiana Rogoimuri qualified (B standard) to compete in the women's 100m and 200m, T36 category; she has cerebral palsy. [14] [15] On 1 August, however, less than a month before the Games, she was "rushed to hospital" in a "critical condition" after a car accident. [16] She was discharged from the hospital on 21 August, but ordered to rest, and had to withdraw from the Games. [3]
The Women's 100 metres T36 event at the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium on 8 September.
The Women's 200 metres T36 event at the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium on 1 September. The event consisted of 2 heats and a final.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time. Often, symptoms include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensation, vision, hearing, swallowing, and speaking. Often, babies with cerebral palsy do not roll over, sit, crawl or walk as early as other children of their age. Other symptoms include seizures and problems with thinking or reasoning, which each occur in about one third of people with CP. While symptoms may get more noticeable over the first few years of life, underlying problems do not worsen over time.
Natalie du Toit OIG is a South African swimmer. She is best known for the gold medals she won at the 2004 Paralympic Games as well as the Commonwealth Games. She was one of two Paralympians to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; the other being table tennis player Natalia Partyka. Du Toit became the third amputee ever to qualify for the Olympics, where she placed 16th in the 10K, "Marathon", swim.
Benoit Huot is a Canadian Paralympic swimmer, who has won nine Paralympic Games gold medals for Canada, primarily in the freestyle and butterfly strokes.
Fiji, having made its Olympic debut at the 1956 Summer Games, has competed at fourteen Summer Games and three Winter Games. Its athletes have taken part in archery, athletics, boxing, football, judo, sailing, shooting, swimming, weightlifting and rugby sevens.
Daniel Brian Crates is a former British athlete, who specialised in 800m sprinting. He is a former Paralympic world record holder in this event, and won gold medals in a number of international competitions, including the Paralympic Games, European Championships and World Championships. He also plays competitive rugby and is a qualified diving instructor.
Fiji competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. The country's delegation consisted of a single athlete, visually impaired sprinter Ranjesh Prakash, who competed in two events in athletics. Prakash was also his country's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony.
Australia competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Games in London, United Kingdom from 29 August to 9 September 2012. The London Games were the biggest Games with 164 nations participating, 19 more than in the 2008 Beijing Paralympic. Australia has participated at every Summer Paralympic Games and hosted the 2000 Sydney Games. As such, the 2000 Sydney Games, regarded as one of the more successful Games, became a point-of-reference and an inspiration in the development of the 2012 London Games.
Samoa competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's eighth appearance at the Olympics, although four other games were first appeared under the name Western Samoa.
Gregory Stephen "Greg" Smith, OAM is an Australian Paralympic athlete and wheelchair rugby player who won three gold medals in athletics at the 2000 Summer Paralympics, and a gold medal in wheelchair rugby at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, where he was the flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
New Zealand competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from 29 August to 9 September 2012. The country won 17 medals in total, including six gold medals, and finished twenty-first on the medals table.
Papua New Guinea participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9, 2012.
Samoa participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9.
Tonga participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9, 2012. Their participation marked their fourth consecutive Summer Paralympics appearance since their début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. Tonga was represented by the Tonga National Paralympic Committee, and was one of the 45 participating countries that sent only a single athlete. Tonga has always sent only a single athlete from Sydney 2000 to London 2012. Tonga National Paralympic Committee sent a delegation of three people, including one athlete. The sole athlete to represent the nation was ʻAloʻalo Liku, who participated in javelin and discus throw. Liku was the country's flag-bearer during the Games' opening ceremony. Tonga did not win a medal at these Games, however Liku finished with seasonal bests in both the events.
Djibouti made its Paralympic Games début at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9. The country was represented by a single athlete in middle distance running, their first Paralympian. Houssein Omar Hassan did poorly in his heat due to an ankle injury, and did not win a medal. Despite not winning a medal, he was cheered on by the crowd as he ran alone on the track for two laps
Fred Fatiaki is a Fijian Paralympic athlete, athletics coach and official. He coached the first Fijian and Pacific Islander to ever win a Gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, Iliesa Delana who he had been coaching since 2006.
Fiji competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 September to 18 September 2016.
The Gambia sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7–18 September 2016. This was the nation's second appearance at a Paralympics, following their first participation in the 2012 London Paralympics. The Gambia sent one athlete, Demba Jarju, who failed to advance from his heat in the men's 100 meters T54 event.
Hellen Saohaga is a Solomon Islander athlete, who competes in the F57/58 shot put. She became her nation's first Paralympic athlete when she competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, England.
Athletes have competed as Independent Paralympians at the Paralympic Games for various reasons, including political transition, international sanctions, suspensions of National Paralympic Committees and compassion.
