I thought I wouldn’t cry this Commonwealth Games, then along came David Liti

In a scaled-back competition, sometimes it takes a smiling weightlifter to remind us all what makes the Commonwealth Games so great.

There’s no greater zone of strategic tension in sport than that little fold-out table in the lifters’ area during a weightlifting competition. Coaches enter their athlete’s chosen weights for each of their three snatches, then clean and jerks, and those weights determine the order of lifts. Weights can only ever be added between lifts, they can’t be removed. Go too low and you immediately place yourself out of medal contention. Go too high and you risk flaming out without a successful lift.

As a previous champion at the Commonwealth Games, David Liti knew he’d be one of the last to lift in both categories of the +110kg (AKA the big dogs) event and that the pressure would be on him. No weightlifter from New Zealand had medalled at three Commonwealth Games, and Liti wanted to be the first, after winning gold in 2018 and silver in 2022.

But the snatch didn’t go to plan. Liti failed his third attempt of 176kg, the same weight that India’s Lovepreet Singh cleared, meaning he entered the clean and jerk 10kg behind at 166kg and under pressure.

Singh cleared 205kg in his first attempt, and Liti 207kg in his. Then Singh cleared 212kg, leaving Liti with a huge 15kg to make up in his final two throws, and with Singh still to lift again.

Enter: Tina Ball. Liti’s longtime coach, close mentor and friend. The two share a beautiful relationship – Ball first began coaching him when he was 15 – and make for a visually striking pair (Ball is barely five feet tall). Whatever Ball decides needs to be done to win, Liti will do that.

Ball is standing at the officials table, deliberating. She knows Liti will need to lift 223kg to win gold, but that’s a massive 16kg increase, not to mention more than he’s lifted on the big stage in two years. It would make sense to split the difference, and go for 223kg on the third lift as a hail mary. But then there’s Singh and his own third lift.

With seconds to spare, Ball steps forward and scribbles a number on the form. “213kg,” says the commentator. “No wait, 223kg!” It’s a huge gamble, but it forces Singh to return to the platform immediately, as his third lift is 217kg. Ball doesn’t look particularly happy about having to use this strategy but if Liti wants gold, it has to happen.

Singh attempts 217kg and fails after the clean. He still looks pleased, though. A 15kg lead at the end of a competition should be safe. Should be.

A shaky lift from David Liti to keep us on edge (Image: Sky Sport via YouTube)

Liti has two attempts at 223kg for the gold. He speaks to Ball, she slaps him on the head and off he goes. It’s a last-ditch hail mary and it doesn’t start well. The clean is, well, not clean. Liti sways to the right before balancing himself. As he stands, he needs to adjust both hands on the bar. Every movement, when you’re holding 223kg, is using vital energy and suggests a failed first attempt is on the cards.

The packed venue – which seems to include the entire New Zealand team – is dead silent, as if breathing might cause him to lose balance again. Then Liti jerks and, somehow, some way, locks his arms for three green lights and a gold medal.

The place erupts and Liti slams the weights down, grinning well before they hit the floor. Lots of athletes, especially strength-based athletes, use aggression as their force. They get rarked up, they growl, they channel rage into an artform. Liti is not one of those athletes. He always looks like he’s having the time of his life, and when he wins, he just looks so, so happy to be there. As team captain in Glasgow, Liti is in charge of morale and team spirit, and comes with an earned reputation – Liti won the games-wide award for sporting spirit in 2018.

After his shocking winning lift, Liti walks off the platform and greets Ball by lifting her clean off the ground in a bear hug. She did what she had to do for him to win, and so did he. Liti drags Ball out onto the platform to raise her arm in joint victory. There’s not a dry eye in the house – not my house anyway.

Everybody’s crying (Image: Sky Sport via YouTube) ...