Weightlifter Eileen Cikamatana has her sights firmly set on striking gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Biringham, London later this year.
She won for Fiji during the 2018 Commonwealth Games weightlifting 81kg competition on the Gold Coast and is aiming to be the first woman to win gold for two different countries.
After a fall-out with Weightlifting Fiji over her coaching, Cikamatana is now representing Australia where she is being mentored by veteran coach Paul Coffa at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute at Dromana on the Mornington Peninsular near Melbourne.
Speaking on the ABC Pacific Beat podcast last week, the girl from Levuka says she is prepared mentally and physically on winning gold in England.
“My Commonwealth total from four years ago was 233kg. And my best total is 274kg at the moment,” Cikamatana said.
“It is a big difference – 233kg was back in 2018 where I only succeeded with my first two attempts. And my best ever total is 274kg which I did over an online competition.
“If I put my best lifts together I could go up to 277kg.
“The main aim is to get gold because if I don’t get gold then what’s the point of going.
“You got to get the motivation going in order to achieve your dreams.
“The point of all the hard training, you win to pay it off.”
She said she had learned her lessons from her failed attempt to become Australia’s first female world champion in weightlifting when she bombed out of the women’s 81 kilograms in Tashkent in Uzbekistan last December.
The 22-year-old favourite was seeking her 13th straight win at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships but made only one good lift, her final snatch, and for the first time in her career finished without a total.
“The lesson that I learned is to train harder and not get injured, and do everything precise and right to avoid such things happening,” she said.
“I’m mentally strong and physically too but it wasn’t just my year.
“I had a bit of a torn muscle but I’m better than ever now, I’m recovering well and I’m training really well.”
