Eileen Cikamatana

Australian weightlifter (born 1999)

Eileen Cikamatana
Personal information
Birth nameEileen Floanna Maria Cikamatana
NationalityFijian
Born (1999-09-18) 18 September 1999 (age 24)
Levuka, Fiji
Sport
CountryAustralia
SportWeightlifting
ClubOceania Weightlifting Institute Gym
Coached byPaul Coffa
Medal record
Women's weightlifting
Representing  Australia
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Bogotá 87 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Riyadh 81 kg
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Birmingham 87 kg
Oceania Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 87 kg
Representing  Fiji
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast 90 kg
Commonwealth Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gold Coast 90 kg
Silver medal – second place 2016 Penang 69 kg
Oceania Championships
Gold medal – first place 2017 Gold Coast 90 kg
Silver medal – second place 2016 Suva 69 kg
Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Ashgabat 90 kg
World Championships (Junior)
Silver medal – second place 2017 Tokyo 90 kg
World Championships (Youth)
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Penang 69 kg

Eileen Floanna Maria Cikamatana (born 18 September 1999) is an Australian[1] weightlifter who previously represented Fiji.[2]

Career

She competed in the women's 90 kg event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, winning the gold medal.[3][4] Cikamatana was named 2017 Fiji's sportswoman of the year,[5] but was controversially omitted from consideration for the 2018 Fiji sports awards following her gold medal winning performance at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[6]

She also won the gold medal in the women's 87 kg event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England,[7] which made her the first woman to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games for two different countries.[8]

In the wake of a dispute between Weightlifting Fiji and breakaway group Fiji Weightlifters Association,[9] she committed to representing Australia under coach Paul Coffa in February 2019 and was able to return to international competition later that year. However, the circumstances over her transfer of allegiance made Cikamatana ineligible to qualify for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[10]

In 2024, she competed in the women's 81 kg event at the Summer Olympics held in Paris, France.[11] She lifted 262 kg in total and finished fourth missing out 5 kg on bronze medal.

Major results

Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank
1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank
Representing  Australia
Olympic Games
2024 Paris, France 81 kg 113 117 120 — 145 149 149 — 262 4
World Weightlifting Championships
2022 Bogotá, Colombia 87 kg 109 111 111 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 140 148 148 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 249 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2023 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 81 kg 110 110 115 5 143 146 150 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 256 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
IWF World Cup
2019 Tianjin, China 81 kg 110 110 119 1st place, gold medalist(s) 146 150 150 JWR 1st place, gold medalist(s) 260 JWR 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2020 Rome, Italy 81 kg 110 115 120 1st place, gold medalist(s) 140 150 159 1st place, gold medalist(s) 255 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2024 Phuket, Thailand 81 kg 110 114 114 4 145 149 153 1st place, gold medalist(s) 263 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
Commonwealth Games
2022 Birmingham, United Kingdom 87 kg 105 110
GR		 113 1st place, gold medalist(s) 129 137 145
GR		 1st place, gold medalist(s) 255
GR		 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Oceania Championships
2021 Various, Oceania 87 kg 102 110 117 1st place, gold medalist(s) 130 140 150 1st place, gold medalist(s) 250 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2022 Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands 87 kg 104 110 113 1st place, gold medalist(s) 130 140 145 1st place, gold medalist(s) 250 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2023 Honiara, Solomon Islands 81 kg 110 115 119 1st place, gold medalist(s) 140 145 151 1st place, gold medalist(s) 260 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2024 Auckland, New Zealand 81 kg 113 113 113 — — — — — — —
IWF Grand Prix
2019 Lima, Peru 87 kg 110 115 115 1st place, gold medalist(s) 143 148 151 JWR 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 266 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Representing  Fiji
Commonwealth Games
2018 Gold Coast, Australia 90 kg 103 107 107 2 130 140 144 1 233 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Oceania Championships
2015 Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 63 kg 75 75 81 6 95 102 104 4 170 5
2016 Suva, Fiji 69 kg 90 90 93 1st place, gold medalist(s) 110 110 112 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 205 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
2017 Gold Coast, Australia 90 kg 102 102 111 1st place, gold medalist(s) 130 136 141 1st place, gold medalist(s) 243 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Junior World Championships
2017 Tokyo, Japan 90 kg 97 101 103 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 124 129 132 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 229 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
Youth World Championships
2016 Penang, Malaysia 69 kg 93 93 96 4 116 117 122 1st place, gold medalist(s) 215 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)

References

  1. ^ "Fijian weightlifter Eileen Cikamatana commits to Australia". Radio New Zealand. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Eileen Cikamatana". Gold Coast 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Sport: Gold medal enough for Fiji weightlifting star". Radio New Zealand. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Event Schedule - Women's 90kg". Gold Coast 2018. Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. ^ Reece, Lena (4 April 2018). "Nakarawa, Cikamatana named Fiji Sportsman and Sportswoman of 2017". Fiji Village.
  6. ^ "Cikamatana not nominated in Fiji Sports Awards". The Fiji Times. 21 April 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  7. ^ Houston, Michael (2 August 2022). "Opeloge family claim another weightlifting title as Don strikes gold at Birmingham 2022". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Australian Eileen Cikamatana becomes first woman to win Commonwealth gold for two countries". ABC News. 3 August 2022 – via www.abc.net.au.
  9. ^ "Sport: Fiji weightlifting divide widens with formation of new group". Radio New Zealand. 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  10. ^ Oliver, Brian (10 November 2019). "Australia's new weightlifting sensation can break world records - but she cannot go to Tokyo 2020". insidethegames. Dunsar Media Company. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Weightlifting Results Book" (PDF). 2024 Summer Olympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.