What a lift for Pacific

PACIFIC power has arrived on the Gold Coast, with weightlifting teenager Eileen Cikamatana becoming the first Fijian woman to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal on a big day for the island nations.

Cikamatana dominated the women’s 90kg competition yesterday, while Samoan pair Feagaiga Stowers and Sanele Mao also claimed weightlifting gold for the Pacific. The 18year-old Cikamatana wept openly as the Fijian anthem played at a Commonwealth Games for only the fourth time – the first since 2002.

“I feel overwhelmed, excited, I feel very happy,” she said.

“This is my first Commonwealth Games and I have been working for this goal for many years. I feel like I am on top of the world.”