CIKAMATANA TIPPED FOR GOLD LIFT
Weightlifting sensation Eileen Cikamatana has a busy September as the 17-year old will be competing in two international competitions. The first competition is the Commonwealth Championship & Oceania Weightlifting Championships to be held in Gold Coast, Australia. Immediately after the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Cikaimatana is targeting to win gold medal in the 90kg category at the Commonwealth Championships when she competes on September 9.
On August 5 while competing at the 2017 Pacific Cup International and the 2018 Commonwealth Games qualification event in Noumea, Cikamatana established 20 Commonwealth and Oceania records in a truly astonishing performance. She snatched 110Kg and clean & jerked 140Kg totalling a total lift of 250Kg.
This exceptional performance lifted Eileen to be the World No.1 ranked junior athlete for 2017 in the 90kg weight category ahead of Jiaqi Shi of China and Valentyna Kisil of Ukraine.
She is also the top ranked athlete in the Commonwealth Senior 90kg category.
She is the only weightlifter from the entire Oceania region to win a gold medal at any World Championships. She won the gold in the Clean & Jerk competition at the 2016 IWF World Youth Championships, where she also won bronze in the overall total.
This year she won two silver and one bronze medals at the 2017 IWF Junior World Championships in Tokyo.
The Commonwealth Championships are the final qualifying event for the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast next year.
Eileen will be competing alongside Manueli Tulo, Taniela Rainibogi, Poama Qaqa & Apolonia Vaivai, who are all vying to qualify for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Eileen will join the Team Fiji in Turkmenistan on September 14 travelling with other athletes from the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Noumea where she is currently based.