Fiji made history when it won its first ever Gold medal at Rio 2016, not their first Medal at the Olympics (Actually it was) but their first medal at anything.
While its football team might not have done too well (they were thrashed 10-0), their Rugby were the very best and they ran out 43-7 winners against Great Britain.
The win sparked celebrations all around the 900,000 strong country.
“I was just thankful to the lord for blessing us and giving us an opportunity to win in a mega-sport arena like the Olympics,” said team captain Osea Kolinisau at the press conference after the game.
“I never dreamed of being an Olympian, let alone being a medalist, let alone being a gold medalist. So I was just thankful to up above for the journey God has brought me on.”
They also had the added honour of winning the first ever Gold medal in that particular competition as it was the inaugural edition of the Rugby 7s tournament.
The sport is like a religion in the country so they came in as pre-tournament favorites and they duly delivered.
There was a touch of Irony as the Fijians were coached by a Brit, Ben Ryan. “I feel very lucky that I’m in charge of such an unbelievable group of athletes with a country behind us that is so passionate about rugby sevens,” he said.
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