Mesulame Rakuro

Mesulame Rakuro (born May 12, 1932 , † June 13, 1969 in Lautoka ) was a Fijian discus thrower .

Rakuro represented his country at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Vancouver in 1954 , where he achieved eighth place in the discus throw with 42.71 m. At these games he was also part of the Fijian 4-by-110-yard season, which, however, was eliminated in advance.

At the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958 , he again competed in the discus throw and this time finished fifth with 48.01 m.

Rakuro took part in the Olympic Games twice in his career. In 1956 in Melbourne he reached 47.24 m in the discus throw and thus 15th place. These were the first Olympic Games in which Fijian athletes took part. In 1960 in Rome , 47.18 m were not enough to qualify for the main competition.

In an international match between the United Kingdom and the rest of the Commonwealth in 1958, he achieved his best of 51.84 m. This width is Fiji's existing national record to date (June 2014).

At the South Pacific Games in 1963 in Suva he won the gold medal in the discus throw and in the shot put . In 1966 in Nouméa he was able to repeat his success in the discus throw.

Rakuro collapsed and died at home at the age of 38. In 1991 he was inducted into the Fijian Sports Hall of Fame .

Web links

• Mesulame Rakuro in the database of World Athletics (English)
• Entry into the Hall of Fame of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee
• Mesulame Rakuro in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )