In what had otherwise been a tight competition in sevens’ successful Olympic debut, the Flying Fijians blew Great Britain away 43-7 in a one-sided final at Deodoro Stadium.
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But Bainimarama said “a wonderful reception awaits our boys when they arrive back in Fiji. never before has the Fijian spirit soared so high as it does today”.
“It’s history in the making, first gold medal in the Olympics and we’re all proud to be Fijians”, said Bainimarama, who was among the Fiji fans in a packed crowd cheering along.
Fiji celebrated their victory with a rousing group song as their emotional players cherished a national milestone.
With a population of around 900,000, Fiji has long punched above its weight in global rugby, particularly in the sevens game which rewards the pace, power and skill of its distinctive brand of play.
It was a sensational and hugely popular conclusion to the first rugby tournament at the Olympics since 1924.
After 16 appearances in the Olympics, the tiny nation of Fiji has its first medal.
South Africa won the bronze medal after beating Japan 54-14 in the third-place play-off. People in Japan took notice.
Fiji rugby sevens coach Ben Ryan tweeted his appreciation. The host nation did well enough in the women’s ranks to qualify a Brazilian team for next year’s world series.
“It was in our prep before each game, Hong Kong is [also] a three-day tournament, in how we approach things, how we got over jet lag, nutritional strategies”.
“We made the best of the challenges we faced”. So I was just thankful from up above of the journey we have been through.
“I think the whole country has gone insane”, said Maikele Seru, deputy sports editor of the Fiji Times, speaking from his office five minutes’ walk from the centre of town.
The rugby sevens format is like a snack-sized version of the traditional 15-a-side game. The games are played on a full field, with seven players in a team and with halves of seven minutes instead of 40.
It said “some of them (fans) could not hold back their emotions and shed tears of joy as Ryan and his team brought glory to the country”. “That’s not bad for a global game, so from that point of view that’s been good”.
“Hopefully we’ve earned the right to be a permanent sport and we’ll be trying like mad to retain our status”.
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World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper said fan engagement as well as spectator numbers and broadcast figures would the main criteria judged by the International Olympic Committee, at an Olympics where some venues have been marred by low turnout. “That’s punching above most of the sports here”.
