Iliesa Delana (born 2 December 1984) is a

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

an politician and

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

high jumper who has been Member of the

Parliament of Fiji The Parliament of the Republic of Fiji is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Fiji. It consists of 55 members elected every 4 years using open list proportional representation in one multi-member nationwide constituency. History ...

and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

since 17 September 2014. He was the first Fijian athlete to win a medal, gold in high jump, for

Fiji at the Paralympics Fiji first competed at the Summer Paralympic Games in 1964, sending a single athlete to compete in weightlifting, then missed out on two consecutive Games before returning in 1976, with a larger delegation of eight competitors in swimming and ath ...

Early life

Delana was born in Naisausau, Namara, Tailevu, Fiji. He lost his left leg in a bus accident at age three. He debuted at the

FESPIC Games The FESPIC Games or the Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled, was a multi-sport event in Asia and the South Pacific region which is considered to be a precursor to the Asian Para Games, as two of its edition games in 1999 (7th) and ...

in 2006, and has since won silver medal at the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

, held in New Zealand, and then a gold medal at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

2012 Paralympics

Delana competed in the F42 category (for single leg amputees without prosthesis) at the

. Going into the games, Delana was ranked number 2 in the world,"Athlete profiles"
, ''

Fiji Times ''The Fiji Times'' is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest newspaper still operating. ''The Fiji Times'' is owned by Motibhai G ...

'', 31 January 2012 but jumped 1.74m to win the gold on count back, after clearing all heights up to and including 1.74m on his first attempts. His jump of 1.74m broke the Oceanic record for the event. In doing this, Delana became the first Fijian to win any medal at the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

(or

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

), and the first athlete from the South Pacific Islands to win gold (following Francis Kompaon's silver medal for

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

in sprinting in 2008)."Delana jumps into history"
, ''Fiji Times'', 4 September 2012 Delana was congratulated by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ratu

Epeli Nailatikau Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, (born 5 July 1941) (often referred to as ''Na Turaga Mai Naisogolaca'') is a Fijian chief who was President of Fiji from 2009 to 2015. He has had a long career in the Military, diplomatic service, and go ...

, and by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Voreqe Bainimarama who called upon all Fijians to celebrate his victory. Upon his return to Fiji, Delana was welcomed by thousands of people (in the rain) for national celebrations which included a procession through the main street of

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

and "military and traditional ceremonies of welcome, ormallyonly accorded to Heads of States". Delana was invited to inspect a fifty-strong

honour guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

. President Nailatikau delivered a speech describing Delana as a national "icon", adding that he had brought to the country a "sense of unity and pride ..greatly needed at this point in time and in pursuit towards democratic governance", in the context of constitutional change following the 2006 military coup and plans for the restoration of democracy in 2014. The government announced that it would be building him a new house, to be completed before Christmas, as a gift and "token of appreciation from the Fijian Government and from all Fijians". He was presented with a new home by Prime Minister Bainimarama in January 2013, as "a token of appreciation to convey Fiji's profound gratitude for the great honour elana hadbestowed upon the country". He is depicted on the obverse of the Fijian 2013 circulating commemorative 50 Cents coin.

Political career

Delana stood in the 2014 general elections for the

FijiFirst FijiFirst ( fj, iMatai ni Viti) is a liberal political party in Fiji. The party was formed in March 2014 by then Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama. Formation The party was launched on 31 March 2014 with Bainimarama beginning a nationwide tour of ...

party, and was elected to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

with 906 votes. He was subsequently appointed to

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

as Assistant Minister for Youth and Sports.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Delana, Iliesa Paralympic athletes of Fiji Paralympic gold medalists for Fiji 1984 births Living people Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics I-Taukei Fijian members of the Parliament of Fiji FijiFirst politicians Government ministers of Fiji I-Taukei Fijian people Politicians from Tailevu Province Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) FESPIC Games competitors Fijian high jumpers