Toua eyes Olympic history

PNG Weightlifting Queen Dika Toua will make Olympic history if she qualifies to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in July this year.

According to the PNG Olympic Committee, Toua is on the verge of another historical sporting moment for Team PNG as she pursues her fifth appearance at the Olympics.

Dika Toua first entered the record books at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 when she became the first female weightlifter to lift when the sport was contested for the first time at the Olympic Games.

Now she is chasing her fifth straight Olympic Games, the first female weightlifter in the world to do so.

Toua says it is very overwhelming, to be the first female weightlifter on the Olympic platform and now going to the Olympics for the fifth time is something she wants to do, and is working hard and staying positive.

While her main focus now is to qualify, Toua remains confident in her experience and is also not ruling out the chance of an Olympic medal.

Toua needs to participate in six international events to qualify.

So far, she has completed four with two more lined up. Currently, she is well ahead in the continental stream in the 49kg category. 

Toua has been highly competitive in her last four Olympic appearances finishing 10th place in Sydney 2000 in the 48kg division, 6th in Athens in 2004, 8th in Beijing in 2008 and 12th place in London in the 53kg division.

Toua is currently training at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in New Caledonia in preparation for these upcoming events. 

Author: 
Loop Author