Eileen Cikamatana has been lifting weights since she was a child, but not the conventional ones.
The Fijian-born Australian citizen grew up in a small town, where she helped her father run errands.
He had pigs to take care of, so naturally he needed a lot of pig feed.
Cikamatana says she was close to her father as a child, doing “boy’s work instead of girl’s work”.
At age 11, Eileen would ride with him in his truck, help deliver goods, then load 50-kilo bags of feed mix into the truck.
Cikamatana was born in Fiji but now splits his time between Sydney and Melbourne. (ABC: Michael Barnett)
I would also unload 50 kilo gas cylinders for good measure.
So when a school teacher asked if she’d like to try weightlifting, it was a no-brainer.
“When I first heard about weightlifting, I thought it was only for boys until I saw girls from my island competing in the Olympics,” Cikamatana said.
“And then I really wanted to try the sport.”
Knowledge about the subject
Once Cikamatana committed to weightlifting, he was hooked.
And he says his mental strength has been key to his success.
“When you start out, you’re nervous and you wonder if I’m going to be able to lift that weight or if I’m not going to be able to,” he said.
loading
“That’s what drew me to the sport because it challenged me to break down my barriers and my fear.”
“In training, it’s your mind that takes over your body. And you really need to focus because you’re lifting weights.
“You really need to get into that relationship with you and the bar. Because weights are dead weight, they don’t have feelings, but you do.”
Golden highs and post-game blues
When Cikamatana was 15, he left home to move to New Caledonia, an established base for lifters in the Pacific region.
He really burst onto the international scene as an 18-year-old when he won gold for Fiji at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
Cikamatana has a breakthrough performance at Gold Coast 2018. (Getty Images: Dan Mullan)
It was an incredible high, but quickly followed by a low.
The Fiji Weightlifting Federation brought in a new coach who insisted he move from his training base in New Caledonia to Fiji.
Cikamatana knew this was not in his best interest and decided to follow his coach Paul Coffa to Australia.
He was given a distinguished talent visa but the timing meant he would not be eligible to compete for Australia at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
This did not faze her.
“If I miss this one, we can always go to the next one, which is 2024, and that’s our main goal,” he said.
“So I told (coach) Paul, ‘If I miss it for a better future, I’ll move on because this is a [once-in-a-lifetime] opportunity and I don’t want to lose it for the world.”
Cikamatana is already looking towards the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Getty Images: Dan Mullan)
So he committed to the move, basing himself in Sydney but also spending a lot of time with Coffa in Melbourne.
“I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come because I’m quite happy to adapt to the lifestyle in Australia,” she said.
Birmingham’s golden goal
Cikamatana’s biggest outing as an Australian will come at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Cikamatana is delighted to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games. (Getty Images: Kelly Defina)
And after reaching first place four years ago, he intends to repeat the dose.
“This has been the best opportunity I’ve ever had, and it’s a dream come true for me,” he said.
“To represent Australia in green and gold is beyond my imagination.
“We’re going for the gold, nothing else.”
Cikamatana will compete in the women’s 87kg category on Wednesday 3 August AEST.