| Sport: | Athletics |
| Event: | Shot put, discus throw |
| Pb: | SP – 15.48 m (1951) |
| Show-Medals: | yes |
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.[1] He was the first Fijian to have success internationally in the sport of athletics.[2] [3] 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.[4] [5]
He was the first gold medallist for Fiji at the Commonwealth Games and remains their only athletics winner in the tournament's history.[6] The shot put national record of he set in Suva in 1951 stood for over 50 years.[7] He was the first entrant into the Fiji Sports Hall of Fame alongside rugby player Josefa Levula.[8]