Olivia Selemaia took silver at the junior world champs in Peru. Photo: Bilbo / supplied
So close but yet so far for Auckland weightlifter Olivia Selemaia who has finished eighth at the World Championships in Norway.
Competing in the A session at a World Championships for the first time, the 19-year-old was within touching distance of a bronze medal in the 69kg category.
Selemaia lifted 102kg in the snatch part of the competition, just 5kg less than the bronze medalist.
"No not happy, but not sad," is the way Selemaia described her performance when she spoke to RNZ.
"Just a bit disappointed and frustrated purely because we weren't far away from the podium."
Her total weight of 226kg was less than her New Zealand record.
"I was definitely aiming for a bit higher in the numbers.
"Training has been a bit rough and so we've been just trusting the process, but placing eighth in the world is an achievement. It is just something I wanted to do better."
Her eighth place is the best ever result by a New Zealand female at a World Championships.
It was the first time Selemaia had competed in the A session of a world championships.
The division was divided into three sessions with the lowest ranked athletes competing in the C session, the next best in the B and the top dozen in the A session.
Selemaia placed 15th competing in the C session in 2023 and placed 11th competing in the B session in 2024.
North Korean Kuk Hyang Song was a class above the rest in the division, winning with a total weight almost 30kg more than the second placed athlete.
"The adrenaline was really high, Selemaia said.
"Sometimes you sit back and it is crazy to see how far we have come, so I'm just really happy to be in that space and compete against these world class athletes."
Weightlifting NZ president Simon Kent was on hand to watch Selemaia.
"I'm very proud," he said.
"That world championship platform is a different beast, you've got to be in the cauldron to experience it and learn from it and that is what Olivia did tonight."
Kent described North Korea as next level as the nation continued their run of winning all the women's divisions so far.
Up next for Selemaia is the Oceania Champs in Apia in April which doubles as a World Cup event.
The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow is her main focus for next year and following the World Champs is the second ranked Commonwealth athlete in her division.
Selemaia won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships earlier this year.
She was also one of the recipients of the 2025 Yvette Williams Scholarship.
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