Fijian weightlifter Taniela Rainibogi lifted a total of 343kg to claim a bronze medal in the Men’s Weightlifting 96kg, on day five of the Commonwealth Games 2022 competition in Birmingham, England early this morning.
Rainibogi lifted 155kg in the Snatch and 188kg in the Clean & Jerk, en route to a third-place ranking, two better than his first Games outing four years ago in the 2018 edition that was held in Australia.
The Naweni, Cakaudrove native finished third behind Samoa’s Dan Opelogo who won gold with a 381kg lift, setting a new Games record in the process, and India’s Vikas Thakur who took out the silver medal with a total lift of 346kg.
Rainibogi’s bronze sees Fiji move to 18th on the ranking – with the latest medal and two silver medals, picked up from the Rugby 7s competition.
Team Fiji was also featured in the judo competition, lawn bowls, and athletics.
Shanice Takayawa made her Games debut in the women’s 70kg judo category, losing to England in the quarterfinals. In lawn bowls, the women’s Fours of Loreta Kotoisuva, Sheral Mar, Radhika Prasad, and Losalini Tukai could not match up to New Zealand, bowing out 6-17 in the bronze medal finals. In athletics, Fiji’s sprint king Banuve Tabakaucoro clocked 10.64 seconds, eight seconds slower than the 10.56s feat that won him gold in the recent Pacific Mini Games. Tabakaucoro finished fifth in his heat. Heading into the semi-finals, Sri Lanka’s Yupun Abeykoon is the gold medal favourite, having clocked 10.06s, the fastest of the six heats that took place today.
The Commonwealth Games finishes next Monday, 8 August
