Iliesa Delana
Iliesa Delana 
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| nation |
 Fiji
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| birthday | 2nd December 1984 | ||||||||||||
| place of birth | Naisausau | ||||||||||||
| job | Politician | ||||||||||||
| Career | |||||||||||||
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| discipline | high jump | ||||||||||||
| Trainer | Fred Fatiaki | ||||||||||||
| National squad | since 2006 | ||||||||||||
| status | resigned | ||||||||||||
| End of career | 2014 | ||||||||||||
| Medal table | |||||||||||||
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| last change: September 10, 2016 | |||||||||||||
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Iliesa Delana (born December 2, 1984 in Naisausau ) is a former Fijian high jumper in disabled sports and has been his country's deputy minister for youth and sports since September 24, 2014.
Life
Personal life and education
Deiana came in the village Naisausau ( province Tailevu , Central Division to the world). At the age of three he lost his left leg in a bus accident. He attended Cuvu College in Sigatoka and then studied sports science at the Fiji Institute of Technology in the capital Suva .
Athletic career
During his time in college he began to practice athletics with the encouragement of a UK volunteer . Due to his leg disability, Delana entered the F42 classification group.
He was soon able to celebrate his first successes, such as winning the Habafaki meeting in Japan in 2000. In 2007, 2009 and 2011 he secured the gold medal in the high jump in the para competitions of three consecutive Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia . In November 2006 he also won the ninth edition of the FESPIC Games (Far East and South Pacific Games for the Disabled) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . His most successful sporting time was before Delana.
He qualified for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics for the Disabled , which were held in January in the New Zealand city of Christchurch . There he finished second behind the Chinese Weizhong Guo . As a result, he was automatically qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London . As the only representative of his home country, he carried the flag of Fiji into the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremony . On September 3rd of that year he jumped 1.74 meters and set a new oceanic record. Two other athletes also crossed this height - Delana had entered the competition with the highest mark of all participants and had also not made a single failed attempt in his four jumps. So he won the gold medal and became the first ever oceanic winner at Paralympic Games .
Honors
After returning from London, Iliesa Delana was welcomed by thousands of enthusiastic residents in Fiji. President Epeli Nailatikau and Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama congratulated him and praised him as a national icon. Nailatikau went on to say that Delana had "given the country a sense of unity and pride [...] so absolutely necessary at this point and in the pursuit of democratic governance." He was playing on the ongoing political squabbles since a coup in the year 2000 on. During a parade through the main streets of Suva , Delana was celebrated with military honors and a traditional ceremony that is otherwise only given to state guests.
In late January 2013, the Delana government handed over a newly built house in recognition of his achievements. Around the same time, he was inducted into the Fiji Sports Hall of Fame by the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) . On September 18, 2013, the Fijian Central Bank issued a 50 cents commemorative coin with his likeness. In addition, Delana was awarded the Order of Fiji - the highest national order of merit .
Political activity
In the parliamentary elections on September 17, 2014 , he ran for the later victorious, classic liberal party FijiFirst . He was elected as a member of parliament with 906 votes . A week later he was appointed Deputy Minister for Youth and Sport in Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama's cabinet .
During the 2016 Paralympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro , Delana was an official at some medal ceremonies for athletics competitions.
Individual evidence
- ↑ "2012 Fiji Hall of Fame Inductee - Iliesa Delana" . February 8, 2013 on foxsportspulse.com ( Fox Sports Pulse). Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- ^ "Suva Congratulates Iliesa Delana" . On September 14, 2012 on foxsportspulse.com ( Fox Sports Pulse). Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- ^ "Delana, Valentine are Fiji's latest Hall of Famers" . January 26, 2013 on fbc.com.fj ( Fiji Broadcasting Corporation ). Retrieved October 3, 2015.
- ↑ Profile of Iliesa Delana on the homepage of the International Paralympic Committee . Retrieved October 3, 2015.
| personal data | |
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| SURNAME | Delana, Iliesa |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Fijian high jumper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 2nd December 1984 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Naisausau |