Fiji at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

Fiji participated in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, United Kingdom, from August 29 to September 9.[1]

Fiji at the
2012 Summer Paralympics
IPC codeFIJ
NPCFiji Paralympic Association
in London
Competitors1 in 1 sport
Flag bearer Iliesa Delana
Medals
Ranked 52nd
Gold
1
Silver
0
Bronze
0
Total
1
Summer Paralympics appearances

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]

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]

Medallists
MedalNameSportEventDate
 GoldIliesa DelanaAthleticsMen's High Jump F423 September

Athletics
Main article: Athletics at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

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]

Men’s field events
Athlete Event Height Rank
Iliesa Delana High Jump F42 1.74 OC
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See also

Notes
  1. "All Oceania Nations to Head to London 2012 Together", International Paralympic Committee, 9 September 2011
  2. "Paralympics get support", Fiji Sun, 19 July 2012
  3. "Rogoimuri ruled out of 2012 Paralympics", FijiLive, 23 August 2012
  4. Fiji athletes, 2012 Summer Paralympics official website
  5. "Paralympic athletes praise Cardiff for warm welcome", Your Cardiff, 23 August 2012
  6. "Sport: Fiji’s Iliesa Delana wins Pacific’s first ever Paralympic gold medal", Radio New Zealand International, 3 September 2012
  7. "Delana overcomes struggles to create history", FijiVillage, 5 September 2012
  8. "The London 2012 guide to the Paralympic Games", p.46
  9. "List of Opening Ceremony flag bearers". Paralympic.org. August 29, 2012. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  10. "Athlete profiles" Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, Fiji Times, 31 January 2012
  11. "Five confirmed for 2012 London Olympics" Archived 2015-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Fijilive, 30 January 2012
  12. "Look back at February 2011", Radio Fiji, 30 December 2011
  13. "Men's High Jump - F42", London 2012 official website
  14. "Last minute preparations for Paralympian", Fiji Times, 3 August 2012
  15. "Lusi's wait is over" Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine, Fiji Times, 20 July 2012
  16. "Paralympian fights for life after accident", Fiji Times, 7 August 2012
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