Women’s hammer throw gold for Fiji’s Deborah Bulai

Fiji’s Deborah Bulai won gold in the women’s 4kg hammer throw at the Sol2023 Pacific Games on Tuesday at Honiara’s National Stadium.

Bulai’s best throw was 58.33 metres, comfortably ahead of the other competitors.

It was a tight contest for silver, claimed by New Zealand’s Elizabeth Hewitt who threw 53.79m, narrowly edging out Wallis and Futuna’s Aneymone Talalua, who settled for bronze with a best throw of 53.68m.

“This is the furthest I’ve ever thrown, so I’m really, really happy about it,” Bulai told the Pacific Games News Service.

“It honestly means a lot. I wasn’t just competing for myself. I was competing for my family. I was competing for my country. I was competing for my coach and also my friends. So, it was just a completely different feeling to what I’m used to.”

The 24-year-old revealed she began her career with discus but switched to hammer throw while studying in the USA.

“If you’re in the (US) collegiate system, which I ended up getting a scholarship for, to go to college and compete, you have to throw hammer. So, I just picked it up and surprisingly I just got good at it. And so that’s why I switched.”

By Delisha Koime and Paul Teho, Pacific Games News Service