Dika Toua

Loa Dika Toua (born 23 June 1984) is a Papua New Guinean Olympian weightlifter who competes regularly in the 53 kg weight class. She is a 12 time, and current, Oceania titlist and a Commonwealth titlist.[1] She is also the current Pacific Games champion.[2][3]

Dika Toua

Personal information
Nationality	Papua New Guinean
Born	(1984-06-23) 23 June 1984 Port Moresby
Residence	Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Height	1.5 m (4 ft 11 in)
Weight	48–53 kg (106–117 lb)
Sport
Country	Papua New Guinea
Sport	Weightlifting
Event(s)	Women's 53 kg
Coached by	Paul Coffa
Achievements and titles
World finals	4
Olympic finals	4
Medal record Women's Weightlifting Representing  Papua New Guinea Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow 53kg 2006 Melbourne 53kg 2018 Gold Coast 53kg Pacific Games 2007 Apia 53 kg 2011 Nouméa 53 kg 2019 Apia 49 kg Pacific Mini Games 2017 Port Vila 53 kg Oceania Championships 2002 Suva 53 kg 2003 Nuku'alofa 53 kg 2004 Suva 53 kg 2005 Melbourne 53 kg 2007 Apia 53 kg 2008 Auckland 53 kg 2012 Apia 53 kg 2013 Brisbane 53 kg 2014 Mont-Dore 53 kg 2017 Gold Coast 53 kg 2018 Mont-Dore 53 kg 2019 Apia 49 kg

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.[4] 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. This time competing in the women's 53 kg weight class, she lifted a total of 177.5 kg to place in sixth position.[5]

Toua qualified for Papua New Guinea in the women's 53 kg event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.[6] There she ranked 7th with a total lift of 184 kg which was her highest personal lift overall at any Olympics she has attended to date.[1]

She again, for the fourth consecutive time, represented Papua New Guinea at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. Lifting a total of 174 kg, the veteran weightlifter finished in 12th after Zulfiya Chinshanlo of Kazakhstan and Cristina Iovu of Moldova were disqualified.[7]

Commonwealth games

In 2006, she won the silver medal in the 53 kg weight class at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.[8] It was her first major achievement at an international competition.

Competing in the same category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she won the silver medal, with a lift of 193 kg, just 3 kilos short of the gold and new games record.[9] 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.[10] With the medals redistributed, Toua was now the gold medalist and her lift of 193 kg became the new games record.[11]

In 2018, competing in her third games in the Gold Coast 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.[12] A month after the games ended the International Weightlifting Federation, 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.[13] In January 2019 the IWF has revoked the provisional suspension of Chanu and let to keep her gold medal.[14]

Major results

Year	Venue	Weight	Snatch (kg)				Clean & Jerk (kg)				Total	Rank
			1	2	3	Rank	1	2	3	Rank
Olympic Games
2000	Sydney, Australia	48 kg	45	45	50	10	62.5	67.5	72.5	10	117.5	10
2004	Athens, Greece	53 kg	70	75	80	7	92.5	97.5	102.5	6	177.5	6
2008	Beijing, China	53 kg	77	77	80	7	104	108	108	6	184	7
2012	London, Great Britain	53 kg	75	79	79	12	95	100	100	12	174	12
World Championships
2003	Vancouver, Canada	53 kg	65	70	72.5	21	87.5	92.5	95	21	162.5	21
2005	Doha, Qatar	53 kg	77	79	83	9	105	105	105	--	--	--
2007	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	53 kg	74	78	78	30	96	101	101	18	175	22
2015	Houston, United States	53 kg	76	80	80	22	103	106	109	20	183	20

Personal life

Toua gave birth to her first child in 2007 to husband, Mavera Gavera. She now has two children, Paul and Ani-Geua.[15] She owns her own weightlifting club in Port Moresby.[16]

References

1. "TOUA Dika". International Weightlifting Federation. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.
2. 2007 South Pacific Games: Women's Weightlifting results
3. The National (PNG): "Day of medals", 29 August 2007 Archived 19 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Toua lifting the hearts of an island" [sic], Olympic.org
5. "TOUA Dika". International Weightlifting Federation. Archived from the original on 27 May 2011.
6. "PNG Olympians land major sponsors" Archived 7 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Radio Australia, 6 June 2008
7. "Dika Toua Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
8. Sports 123: Weightlifting: Commonwealth Games 2006: Women: -53 kg Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
9. "Commonwealth Games Biography - Dika Toua". 8 August 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
10. "Nigeria weightlifter Chika Amalaha stripped of Commonwealth Games gold". The Guardian. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
11. "Glasgow 2014 - Women's 53kg Group A". g2014results.thecgf.com. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
12. "Toua bags silver this time". ABC Australia. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
13. "Sport: PNG lifter in line for gold after opponent fails doping test". Radio New Zealand. 4 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
14. "CWG gold medallist weightlifter Sanjita Chanu's provisional suspension revoked". India Today. 23 January 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
15. "Toua and family". The National. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
16. "Dika Toua background". PNG facts. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2013.

External links

• Athlete Biography at beijing2008
• Yahoo! Sports

Olympic Games
Preceded by Xenia Peni	Flagbearer for  Papua New Guinea Athens 2004	Succeeded by Ryan Pini