Olympic Rugby Medalist Dies at 30 in Traffic Accident

Fijian player Josaia Raisuqe of the French rugby club Castres Olympique was killed when his car was struck by a train.

Josaia Raisuqe runs with the ball during a French Top 14 rugby union match in Castres, France, on Feb. 18, 2024. Valentine Chapuis/AFP via Getty Images

Olympic silver medalist and professional Fijian rugby player Josaia Raisuqe has died following a traffic accident. He was 30.

His team, French rugby club Castres Olympique, announced news of his death in a statement on May 8.

“Castres Olympique is in mourning,” the club wrote on Instagram. “It is with a heavy heart that we learned of the death this morning in a road accident of our player Josaia Raisuqe.”

Raisuqe was reportedly en route to his team’s training center when his vehicle was struck by a train.

“The entire CO family is devastated by this terrible news. Josh had been a member of the club since 2021,” the post continued.

“He was a wonderful teammate, much loved by everyone, including the Castres supporters who had embraced him. We extend our sincere condolences and thoughts to his family and loved ones.”

Club President and Chairman Pierre-Yves Revol extended his condolences.

“He was a radiant young man, both on and off the pitch, and a pillar of the Fijian community that we have at the Club and to which we are very attached,” said Revol in a statement.

“It’s also hard at this moment not to talk about the faith of all these players and Josaia. It goes beyond pain, to help them in this difficult moment for everyone.”

Originally from Naitasiri, Fiji, a Pacific island nation east of Australia, Raisuqe joined Castres Olympique as a winger in 2021.

He began playing professional club rugby in France in 2015, when he joined Top 14 champion Stade Francais, the highest level of domestic rugby in the nation.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Raisuqe was part of Fiji’s silver medal-winning rugby sevens team, defeating Ireland in the quarter-finals and Australia in the semifinals. Fiji lost to France in the final. The rugby sevens version of the game is played with seven players instead of the standard 15.

Castres Olympique’s next match against ASM Clermont, originally scheduled for this weekend, has been postponed because of Raisuqe’s death.

In place of the game, Castres Olympique is paying homage to Raisuqe with a remembrance ceremony at the Pierre Fabre Stadium in Castres, France, on May 10.

“This ceremony will be an opportunity to come together with family, friends and the entire club to honor his memory, share a moment of solidarity and show your support,” the team announced.