Dika Toua

The 49kg athlete, eyeing her sixth Olympic appearance, faced stiff competition from rivals across the globe, including the Madagascan Randafiarison and Australian Brenna Kean, who ventured into her weight class for the occasion.

Entering the competition with a total of 166kg, Toua knew she had to surpass her nearest competitor's 170kg to secure her spot. With nerves of steel, Toua stepped onto the platform and delivered an impressive performance, totaling 171kg, her best since 2019.

Toua is not new to making history at the Olympics as back at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games she became the very first female to participate in Olympic weightlifting for females.

Toua competed in the 49kg event, at the Tokyo International Forum this morning in the first day of competition at the Games.

Toua, at 37, was the oldest athlete in the field and had to change weight category due to the new Olympic weight categories, at these Games, having formerly lifted in the 53kg category.

In a statement, the PNGOC said Toua has engaged legal counsel and the PNGOC looks forward to a speedy resolution of this matter.

According to the PNGOC, Toua remains part of Team PNG for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics until such time the matter is concluded.

The snatch category proved to be quite a challenge for the 35-year-old Hanuabada athlete as her 74kg lift was counted as “no lift” after three failed attempts at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. Under the 59kg category, Wini Jenly from the Solomon Islands lifted 80kg, while Australia’s Erika Yamasaki had 72kg under her belt in the 55kg division, followed by both Toua and SI’s Mary Lifu with 70kg each.

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.

As the proud sponsor of the PNG Weightlifting Federation for over 20 years, Trukai Industries celebrated the weightlifters’ victories along with PNG.

Repeating his feats at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, Steven Kari snatched gold in the Men’s 94kg Division and broke the Commonwealth Games Clean and Jerk record in the process. 

Dika Toua and Morea Baru were also magnificent in capturing silver in the Women’s 53kg and Men’s 62kg divisions respectively.

PM O’Neill applauded every athlete who has made it to the games and said the country is behind them all the way.

"I congratulate all athletes who qualified for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast,” the Prime Minister said in a statement.

"We know a lot of sweat and sacrifice has been required to reach to the Commonwealth Games and each of you must be congratulated.

“So far we have two silver medals in weightlifting events. I congratulate Morea Baru and Dika Toua for their tremendous efforts to win silver in their weightlifting events.

In front of her family and a mass of PNG supporters, Toua took out the silver medal in the 53kg weightlifting competition.

Toua finished third in the Snatch section of the competition with lifts of 78kg and 80kg, with the Canadian and the Indian weightlifters ahead of her on weight.

Khumukcham broke the Commonwealth Games 53kg snatch record with a lift of 84kg to hold the lead.

Toua came back strongly in the Clean and Jerk starting after the majority of the field had completed their lifts, with a first lift of 102kg.

PNG’s pocket dynamo is undergoing a training camp to fine-tune her preparations for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

42 Vanuatu Pacific Mini Games gold medallists are in a special training camp at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Mont Dore, New Caledonia, in preparation for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast from the 4th to 16th April. 

The 20 institute lifters plus the top lifters of Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand will be training together for a 10-day period.