Charisma Amoe-Tarrant, Australia’s strongest woman, won weightlifting bronze for Australia just four years after claiming the silver for Nauru.
The Tokyo Olympian, who won silver for the small Pacific Island nation at the Gold Coast four years ago, finished third in the women’s 87kg division, behind England’s flag-bearer Emily Campbell, who hoisted a Games record 286kg to win.
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Tarrant had an early hiccup with a miss on her second lift before topping out at 100kg.
She missed on her third lift in the clean and jerk but a 139kg lift was enough to put her just one kilogram ahead of Canada’s Emma Friesen in fourth.
Campbell took out the event with a Commonwealth record 286kg total, followed by Samoa’s Feagaiga Stowers.
“I’m proud to be Australian and I’m also proud to be Nauruan so at the end of the day, I’m representing both countries you know,” a beaming Tarrant said.
The 25-year-old began weightlifting at the age of 11 in Nauru with her uncle, who was a coach at a weightlifting gym. Her mother de ella passed away in 2009 due to kidney problems, leading her grandparents de ella to eventually move her to Australia, becoming a citizen in 2016, competing for Australia from 2020.
She looked to the heavens after her final lift, in a tribute to her mother and an uncle who recently passed away.
“I couldn’t help looking up to both up there. All the lifts were for them,” she said afterwards.
Cikamatana was in tears at the medal ceremony and also paid tribute to coach Paul Coffa and his wife Lilly.
“I was emotional because I really appreciative of getting to represent the green and gold and standing on the podium, listening to the anthem,” she said.
“Representing the green and gold is once in a lifetime opportunity and it’s a dream come true.
“They (the Coffas) made all these impossible dreams come true.”
The weightlifter admitted she copped some backlash from fellow Naurans when she initially decided to compete for Australia.
“If I’m being honest, I had that, but I had to tell them, ‘I’m one of you too, I’ve got Nauran blood running in me.’ It took a while but they’re coming back now.”
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