Eileen Cikamatana was hell-bent on delivering her coach an Olympic medal and even on a self-described ‘bad day’, the 24-year-old nearly took one out in the women’s Weightlifting at Paris 2024.
Competing in the women’s 80kg class, a step down from the 87kg weight category she won gold in at the
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Eileen finished fourth and wanted more from her clean and jerk.
“I was full of confidence,” Eileen said. “It’s pretty disappointing not to be on the podium today.
“It’s what we came for and what we’ve worked hard for.
“It happens, that’s life. We have good days and we have bad days.”
Eileen’s second snatch attempt, at 117kg, was her best in the final. After lifting 145kg on her first clean and jerk attempt, two successive cracks at 149kg were unsuccessful.
“I had a good session in the snatch but then dropped the ball in the clean and jerk.
“I thought I could have attempted the medal weight, but it was not my day today.”
Nerves didn’t get the best of her, but Eileen’s thoughts went out to her coach Paul Coffa who she credits as an irreplaceable mentor.
“I wasn’t nervous. It was my first Olympics, but I kept telling myself ‘if you feel nervous you’re going to miss the lift, so you’ve got to go there and do your best because it took you a long time to get where you are today’.
“He (Paul) is a legend. He and his wife, nobody can replace them.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without them. He’s like a father to me. All I wanted was to deliver him a medal.”
Jeff Dickinson-Fox
