WEIGHTLIFTER Eileen Cikamatana, who lives and trains on the peninsula, has taken home gold at the Commonwealth Games, adding to her impressive record.
Cikamatana won gold in the women’s 86kg division at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games on 29 July.
She produced a Commonwealth Games record of 248kg, lifting 108kg in the snatch before lifting a 140kg clean and jerk. She finished nine kilos clear of England’s Madias Ngake, who took home silver with 239kg.
This marks Cikamatana’s third gold Commonwealth Games medal. She won gold for Fiji in the 90kg division at the 2018 Gold Coast games before switching allegiance to Australia and winning the 87kg division at the 2022 Birmingham games.
Cikamatana moved to the peninsula during COVID to train with international weightlifting coach Paul Coffa.
Cikamatana just missed out on a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024 but has since continued training with Coffa and will likely try for the title at the 2028 Olympics.
Cikamatana is now only the third female weightlifter in history to win three consecutive Commonwealth Games titles.
First published in the Mornington News – 4 August 2026
