Usaia Naiteitei Sotutu (born 20 September 1947 in Tavea, Bua,

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

) is a former runner who represented Fiji at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Personal life

Usaia was born in 1947 to Tevita Naiteitei and Akisi Buasega in

. He represented Fiji in several international track and field competitions, including the

South Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2023 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. ...

and the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. Shortly after participating in the Olympics, he attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

, on a full scholarship for track and cross-country. While attending BYU, he converted to

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. In 1973, he took a break from his college and track career to serve a two-year mission for the Church back in Fiji. He went on to marry Catherine Marie Olson in 1975, who was also studying at BYU. Upon finishing his education in Provo, he, Cathie, and their first son, David, moved back to Fiji, and they lived there for the next three years. During that time he taught physical education, and had two more children with Cathie: Juliette and Charles. The Family then moved to

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area, Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 Unit ...

in 1980. There, he went to work for

Boeing The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...

, and they had two more daughters, Jennifer and Diana. He and Cathie were divorced in 2004, but he still lives in the

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

area and still works for Boeing.

Running/athletics career

Usaia was a noted runner in Fiji and was selected to represent Fiji in the South Pacific Games (now

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continent, continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 South Pacific Games, 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently i ...

) numerous times. In 1972, he was chosen to represent Fiji in the

. He did not win any medals.

Achievements

After Retirement

It is not known when he retired, but he was ushered into the Fiji Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Internal References

* Fiji at the 1972 Summer Olympics

References

External links

* * * Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee#Fiji Sports Hall of Fame {{DEFAULTSORT:Sotutu, Usaia 1947 births Living people Fijian male steeplechase runners Olympic athletes for Fiji Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics BYU Cougars men's track and field athletes Converts to Mormonism Fijian Latter Day Saints Latter Day Saints from Washington (state) Fijian Mormon missionaries Mormon missionaries in Fiji 20th-century Mormon missionaries Sportspeople from Kent, Washington Track and field athletes from Seattle People from Bua Province Fijian male long-distance runners BYU Cougars men's cross country runners Pacific Games gold medalists for Fiji Pacific Games medalists in athletics Pacific Games silver medalists for Fiji Pacific Games bronze medalists for Fiji