Shaka Sola
Encyclopedia
Shaka Sola is a Samoa
n shot put
ter and discus
thrower who became a popular if surprising star at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
.
Sola arrived at the championships late, having missed his flight from Samoa, and did not reach the games until his specialist event (shot put) had completed. As compensation, he asked to be allowed to compete in the javelin
, although he had never previously thrown a javelin.
Sola finished last in the event by a considerable distance, throwing the javelin 41.18 metres, over 17 metres less than the next worst competitor. He was roundly applauded and supported by the other javelin throwers, however, all of whom were aware of the reasons for his participation in that event.
Sola, though not a spectacular javelin thrower, is more than capable in his own sports. He won gold at the 2004 Oceania Athletics Championships in both discus (with a games record of 53.79m) and shot put (17.86m), and represented Samoa in the discus at the 2004 Olympic Games.
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
n shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
ter and discus
Discus
Discus, "disk" in Latin, may refer to:* Discus , a progressive rock band from Indonesia* Discus , a fictional character from the Marvel Comics Universe and enemy of Luke Cage* Discus , a freshwater fish popular with aquarium keepers...
thrower who became a popular if surprising star at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics
2005 World Championships in Athletics
The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland , the site of the first IAAF World Championships in 1983. One theme of the 2005 championships was paralympic sports, some of...
.
Sola arrived at the championships late, having missed his flight from Samoa, and did not reach the games until his specialist event (shot put) had completed. As compensation, he asked to be allowed to compete in the javelin
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
, although he had never previously thrown a javelin.
Sola finished last in the event by a considerable distance, throwing the javelin 41.18 metres, over 17 metres less than the next worst competitor. He was roundly applauded and supported by the other javelin throwers, however, all of whom were aware of the reasons for his participation in that event.
Sola, though not a spectacular javelin thrower, is more than capable in his own sports. He won gold at the 2004 Oceania Athletics Championships in both discus (with a games record of 53.79m) and shot put (17.86m), and represented Samoa in the discus at the 2004 Olympic Games.