Loa Dika Toua (born 23 June 1984) is a

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

n Olympian weightlifter. She competed at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, in Women's −49 kg. She competes regularly in the 53 kg weight class. She is a 12 time, and current, Oceania titlist and a Commonwealth titlist. She is also the current

Pacific Games The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2019 in Apia, Samoa. The Games were ...

champion.

Career

Olympic games

At just 16 years of age, she was the inaugural woman to lift weight at an Olympic event, competing in the 48 kg category at the Sydney

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

."Toua lifting the hearts of an island"
ic Olympic.org Toua finished in tenth place with a total lift of 117.5 kg. She was the national flag bearer at the Athens

2004 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on August 13, 2004 starting at 20:45 EEST (UTC+3) at the Olympic Stadium in Marousi, Greece, a suburb of Athens. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the forma ...

. This time competing in the women's 53 kg weight class, she lifted a total of 177.5 kg to place in sixth position. Toua qualified for Papua New Guinea in the women's 53 kg event at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. There she ranked 7th with a total lift of 184 kg which was her highest personal lift overall at any

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

she has attended to date. She again, for the fourth consecutive time, represented Papua New Guinea at the London

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Lifting a total of 174 kg, the veteran weightlifter finished in 12th after

Zulfiya Chinshanlo Zulfiya Salakharqyzy Chinshanlo ( kk, Зүлфия Салахарқызы Чиншанло; russian: Зульфия Салахаровна Чиншанло; , born 25 July 1993) is a Kazakhstani weightlifter.Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and

Cristina Iovu Cristina Iovu (born 8 November 1992) is a Moldovan–born Azerbaijani-Romanian weightlifter competing in the –53 kg division. She is banned by the International Weightlifting Federation until 2026 for Blood substitution. Career Iovu ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

were disqualified. She represented Papua New Guinea, for the fifth time at the

Commonwealth games

In 2002 she attended the Manchester Commonwealth Games at the 48kg weight category, lifting 75kg in the clean and jerk which would have placed her 4th, official records show no weight in the snatch. In 2006, she won the silver medal in the 53 kg weight class at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

. It was her first major achievement at an international competition. Competing in the same category at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

, she won the silver medal, with a lift of 193 kg, just 3 kilos short of the gold and new games record. Days later, the original gold medalist, 16-year-old Chika Amalaha of Nigeria failed a doping test and was stripped of her medal and placement. With the medals redistributed, Toua was now the gold medalist and her lift of 193 kg became the new games record. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, competing in her third games in the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

she placed second once again for her second Commonwealth games silver and third medal overall. She was 10 kilos behind the gold medalist after failing her last two lifts. A month after the games ended the

International Weightlifting Federation The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), headquartered in Lausanne, is the international governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. The IWF was founded in 1905, and has 192 Member Federations. The IWF President is Mohammed H ...

, in June, announced that the original winner, Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu of India, tested positive for testosterone from her A sample after the 2017 World Championships. The IWF had stated that if the Indian weightlifters B sample also returns positive. In January 2019 the IWF has revoked the provisional suspension of Chanu and let to keep her gold medal. She finished in 5th place in the women's 49 kg event at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

held in Birmingham, England.

Major results

Personal life

Toua gave birth to her first child in 2007 to husband, Mavera Gavera. She now has two children, Paul and Ani-Geua. She owns her own weightlifting club in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

References

External links