Papuan flag-bearer Dika creates Olympic weightlifting history

TOKYO AFP July 24, 2021: Papua New Guinea's Loa Dika Toua made history as the first female to compete in five Olympic weightlifting competitions on Saturday, just a few hours after carrying her nation's flag at the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony.

It was a remarkable achievement by the 37- yearold, coming 21 years after she became the first female ever to lift at an Olympic Games, when women's weightlifting was first introduced at Sydney 2000. The 12- time continental champion and mother of two, a national hero back in her home country, beamed a huge smile as she successfully hoisted 69kg in her first snatch attempt before forming a heart shape with her hands.

“It's an amazing feeling,” she told AFP after finishing fourth in Group B of the 49kg bodyweight division, with a total of 167kg.

“Your dream is to go to one Olympics, and maybe a second one. But I never imagined in a million years that I would make it to five.” Toua considered quitting the sport after she was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 2013 and almost died, but made an astonishing recovery to win Commonwealth Games gold at Glasgow 2014.

This might have been her sixth Olympic Games but she skipped Rio 2016 to spend more time with her children and give her sister Thelma a chance to lift at the Olympics, a dream that was dashed when Papua New Guinea did not send a team.

She said she hadn't ruled out attempting to qualify for a sixth Games, with the Paris Olympics just three years away when she will be 40.

“Well I was in the back room and all my weightlifting friends were like ' Dika we'll see you in 2024 in Paris,” she said.

“But I was like: ' I'm not getting any younger'!” “But I will take it one step at a time. I'm really looking forward to the Commonwealth Games next year in Birmingham, and hopefully this Covid situation goes away.” Toua was at the To k y o International Forum venue to weigh in at 7: 50 am, despite proudly leading her country's delegation at the Opening Ceremony which did not finish until almost midnight on Friday.

“There was a lot of walking,” she said. “At one point I said to my coach, who is my husband, you know I need to sit down somewhere and rest my l e gs for tomorrow.

“But it just kept going and I'm not complaining, but I only had five hours of sleep.” Three male weightlifters have competed at f ive Olympic Games -- Imre Foldi of Hungary, and Germany's Ingo Steinhofel and Ronny Weller -- but no woman had done it until now.

The medals in the 49kg division will be decided later Saturday when the Group A athletes compete.