Zion Tokona earned a silver medal in the men’s 96kg A category during the fourth day of the 2024 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships at the Vodafone Arena in Suva.
Tokona achieved a lift of 130kg in the snatch category and 160kg in the clean and jerk. The young weightlifter from Juju district on the island of Rotuma expressed his joy after this significant milestone.
“I felt ecstatic about it; it made me really happy because this was my first major competition. It was very fun and an exciting experience,” he said.
Despite feeling nervous due to previous injuries, Tokona found comfort in his faith, which helped him during the competition. “When I was in the warm-up area today, I felt really nervous because I have a lot of injuries. I was thankful to God because I prayed in the back, and I believe that without putting it in his hands, I wouldn’t have succeeded in my last lift.”
He also credited fellow lifter Nehemiah Elder’s impressive performance, where Elder won double gold on Thursday, as motivation for his own efforts.
“It mainly affected me when I watched Elder. He did really well, and it put a lot of pressure on me,” Tokona said. “It’s definitely a big achievement for me, but I was hoping to do better, although that’s God’s portion for me.”
In the same championship event, Tomasi Saukuru won the bronze medal for Fiji.