If there was one person Leone Nakarawa had wish to be alive and witness this historical occasion, it was none other than his mum Ulamila Naliva Nakarawa.

Ulamila passed away in 2009 and the Kadavu native just looked up to the heavens with few more seconds to go in yesterday’s final and thanked God for everything he has done for him and his family.

“My family has gone through a lot,” he told SUNsports yesterday.

“I lost my mother in 2011 and also I lost my sister Vika Naitawaraki, it was not an easy journey for me. I will always miss my mum’s smiling face and I wish if she could be here to witness this gold medal and I want to thank her for everything she has done for me and my family in bringing us up during tough times and was always there with her smiling face when life was hard.”

Nakarawa’s dad and namesake Leone Snr was part of the 420 gold miners from Vatukoula Gold Mine that went on strike in 1991, it was one of the longest strike ever in the country.

“I went through a tough time growing up at that time when my dad went on strike, we didn’t have food on the table and we struggled a lot. There was me and my two brothers but I didn’t lose hope on what I wanted to achieve and I would like to dedicate this gold medal to my late mum, my sister, my brothers, nephews and especially my 74-year-old dad who has been praying for me,” he said.

Nakarawa said the win in Rio was something he wanted to dedicate to all the children in Vatukoula who went through the 1991 strike.

“We all went through a tough time struggling and most of the time when we needed something our dads could not afford it,” he said while trying hard to hold back his tears.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua.

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