(ATR) Fiji defeats Great Britain 43-7 in the final of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games rugby sevens winning their first ever Olympic medal.
Avinesh Gopal from the Fiji Times describespeople in all corners of Fiji celebrating the country's first gold medal.
"As the final whistle sounded to mark the end of the game, people took to the streets of Suva with the Fiji flag, dancing and running from one end to the other," Gopal adds.
The country continues to erupt in celebration with impromptu street parties and plans to declare the day a national holiday.
Celebrations have started after the Fiji 7s team won #gold at #rio2016. #Rugby7s #fij @benjaminryan @WorldRugby7s pic.twitter.com/hv5wF16zcw
— Monish Nand (@MonishNand) August 12, 2016Fiji declares a national holiday following its first gold medal in history: https://t.co/iqY62jGapD pic.twitter.com/ac9iKz00mT
— SpeedReads (@SpeedReads) August 12, 2016Fiji Airways decided to celebrate in their own way, serving Fiji Gold beer on all flights and using new advertisements to promote the team.
Today we are exclusively serving FijiGold beer on board all our flights.
— Fiji Airways (@FijiAirways) August 11, 2016Soaring with #pride #flylikeafijian #fiji pic.twitter.com/4eGgZuGx8Z
— Fiji Airways (@FijiAirways) August 12, 2016Fans have called for the Rugby team Coach Ben Ryan and his family to receive a Fijian citizenship, reported Peni Mudunavonu of the Fiji Times.
"All glory must go to Almighty God for giving Ryan to coach and nurture such a very talented young group of players" states Kelevi Vakaru, a Fijian citizen and fan.
Praises continue as Ben Ryan goes to Twitter to express his thought on the big win.
Thank you for all the messages. 7s in the Olympics & all the joy had today wouldn't have been possible if not for the late Beth Coalter. ❤️
— Ben Ryan Fiji 7s (@benjaminryan) August 12, 2016"No Fijian in this planet will settle for a silver medal in sevens rugby" Ryan tells the Fiji Times.
Fiji isn't the only country celebrating incredible wins. Team USA's Michael Phelps recently won his 22nd gold medal, more than twice as many golds as any other Olympian.
Sports contributor from CNN James Masters states Phelps is not only rewriting history, but eclipsing it too.
"You have to go back around 2,160 years, give a week or two, to find an athlete who could challenge the imperious record held by the "Baltimore Bullet" states Masters.
Phelps currently holds 26 medals overall and plans to retire after this years Games.
"I say this a lot, but every single day I'm living a dream come true," Phelps said. "As a kid, I wanted to do something that no one had ever done before, and I'm enjoying it. Being able to finish how I won is just something very special to me and this is why you are seeing more and more emotion on the medal podium"Phelpsexpresses.
A.J. Perez from USA Today Sports reveals fellow American swimmer and competitor Ryan Lochte believes that despite rumors of retirement, this may not be Phelps last Olympic Games and plans to see him again in Tokyo 2020.
While some are celebrating victory, others are wallowing in defeat as Team USA women's soccer team loses against Sweden.
Fans including former Olympians and sports outlets took to Twitter to show their support and disappointment in the soccer teams.
Nice hard fight for the US Women's Soccer team. So proud of them! #TeamUSA
— Alysia Montaño (@AlysiaMontano) August 12, 2016Wow what an upset for Team USA.
Sweden takes down U.S. in first Olympic women's soccer game ever to go to PKs. pic.twitter.com/ZBLqd9AjHq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 12, 2016The Rio Olympic Games will conclude on Aug. 21.
Homepage Photo; Getty Images
Written by Courtney Colquitt
Forgeneral comments or questions, click here.
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about theOlympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribersonly.