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.Charter Inductee 1990 Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics. Fox Sports Pulse. Retrieved on 2016-03-16. He was the first Fijian to have success internationally in the sport of athletics.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. At the 1950 British Empire Games he threw 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.Commonwealth Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.Games Results for Mataika Tuicakau. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
He was the first gold medallist for Fiji at the Commonwealth Games and remains their only athletics winner in the tournament's history.Fiji. Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved on 2016-03-16. The shot put national record of he set in Suva in 1951 stood for over 50 years.Legends Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics (Fiji) Charter Inductee 1990 Mataika Tuicakau – Athletics. Oceania Sports Information Centre. Retrieved on 2016-03-16. He was the first entrant into the Fiji Sports Hall of Fame alongside rugby player Josefa Levula.Fiji Sports Hall of Fame. Sporting Pulse. Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
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