As the final whistle sounded Fiji’s rugby sevens captain Osea Kolinisau sank to his knees, struggling to take in what he and his team had achieved.

The Pacific island nation’s long wait for an Olympic medal was over. And when it finally arrived, it was a gold in a sport embraced with near-religious fervor among its 900,000 people.

Billed as heavy favorites ahead of the tournament, Fiji delivered with an emphatic, bruising 43-7 defeat of Great Britain.

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“I was just thankful to the lord for blessing us and giving us an opportunity to win in a mega-sport arena like the Olympics,” Kolinisau told a press conference that began with the sound of applause.