Nauruan weightlifter Maximina Uepa dedicated her Commonwealth Games medal to a former Games champion who succumbed to covid-19.
Reanna Solomon, a mother of five, died at the age of 40 on July 3.
Despite nearly half of Nauru's population testing positive in early July, hers is the only covid-related death so far.
Nauru weightlifter Maximina Uepa Photo: Commonwealth Games 2022 official website
Solomon won gold in the women's over-75kg super-heavyweights at Manchester 2002 and competed at the Olympic Games in 2004.
"It was so sad," said Uepa, 19, after finishing third in the women's 76kg on Wednesday.
"I would like to dedicate my medal to her memory."
Uepa, who made her first lift in an international youth competition at the age of 12 and competed at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018, was Nauru's last chance of a medal to keep their run of success in Commonwealth Games weightlifting going.
It began in Auckland in 1990 when Marcus Stephen became the first Nauruan to win a medal in any sport at a major competition, leading to a national holiday being declared back home.
Stephen, now president of the Nauru Weightlifting Federation and Oceania Weightlifting Federation and the nation's former president, was responsible for weightlifting becoming so popular in Nauru, winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in 1990, 1994 and 1998, and silver in 2002, as well as a silver medal at the 1999 World Championships.
Celebrations in Nauru
There was no television coverage from Birmingham in Nauru, where today's competition began in the early hours.
But news was being sent back lift by lift, via text messages.
"Everybody is still up at 3am and they're all celebrating," said Trent Dabwido, a former international lifter who works at the Nauru consulate in Australia and is one of the technical officials in Birmingham.
"Maximina's medal means we have won at least one weightlifting medal at every Commonwealth Games since Marcus won our first one in 1990."
Stephen was there to congratulate Uepa.
He had held high hopes of Nancy Abouke in the women's 71kg on Monday but she failed with her final two lifts and finished fifth.
"I'm very pleased with Maximina, and her dedication to Reanna," he said.
"Reanna set the standard for our female lifters to follow. It has been very difficult for us because of covid.
"Restrictions came in recently and that meant we missed three weeks of training for these Games."
