13-year-old New Zealand weightlifter Olivia Selemaia has won gold in the Commonwealth and Oceania Youth Championships being held at the Pacific Games.
It was the first international competition for the young Aucklander, who became so excited after her first lift that she dropped the bar before the judges signaled the all clear, resulting in a no lift.
“I was thinking of training then I got a little bit too excited and I dropped it. I was nervous after that but I just learnt from my mistakes and went from there,” said Selemaia.
She then recovered to lift 61kgs in the snatch and 80kgs in the clean and jerk to win the two gold medals.
The weights saw her break three New Zealand under 15 records and three New Zealand youth records.
“It was only the second time I’ve ever lifted 80kgs so I was pretty happy.
“I was really nervous about the competition but I enjoyed it, it was exciting.”
Above: Selemaia with her mother