Weightlifter Liti rises to the occasion

Aucklander David Liti earned himself a place among the elite of the super-heavyweights of weightlifting today.

Liti, 25, finished fifth in the 109+kg class at the Olympics, totalling an impressive 414kg.

In the snatch he achieved 173kg and a personal best of 178kg and all but lifted 183kg too. He got it overhead, but it was ruled a foul by the judges.

Moving on to the clean and jerk, Liti opened with a lift of 229kg, then moved up to 236kg, before missing at 241kg.

Liti, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist on the Gold Coast in 2018, rose to the occasion and his total equalled his personal best.

The competition was won by giant Georgian Lasha Talakhadze, whose snatch of 223kg, clean and jerk of 265kg and total of 488kg were all world records.

Liti said he was very happy with his performance.

"I think I did better than people expected. It was nerve-racking out there, but I really enjoyed it."

He said everything had gone to plan. "I got a PB in the snatch and then made an attempt at 183. I should have just straightened my arms a bit more on that."