Ashley’s uplifting Commonwealth Games debut
Young weightlifter Ashley Kolomoisky's beaming smile said it all after placing fifth on debut in Glasgow.
If there were any nerves when rising young Jewish weightlifter Ashley Kolomoisky entered Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo Arena on July 27 to represent Australia in her debut Commonwealth Games, you wouldn’t have known it.
Kolomoisky – who only turned 20 a fortnight ago – drew on her trademark disciplined preparation, focus, grit and determination to absolutely smash it, and prove she belongs at this level.
And from the moment she successfully completed her opening lift attempt, she displayed another trademark – a beaming smile.
Six of the 10 weightlifters in the women’s 58kg bodyweight field were aged 24 or older.
And the eventual winner was 2025 world championship silver medallist Rafiatu Lawal of Nigeria, who set three new Commonwealth Games records, including a total score of 229kg.
But that didn’t worry the young Melbourne West Barbell Club member nicknamed ‘Nugget’.
She achieved a snatch PB of 84kg in her third lift, and then matched her Clean & Jerk PB of 104kg that she’d set in April when winning the U20 Oceania and Commonwealth titles in Samoa, to earn a total score of 188kg, which was also a new PB.
That placed her fifth overall, just 11kg in total behind the bronze medallist, 27-year-old Indian Bindyarani Sorokhaibam.
Kolomoisky’s snatch PB was particularly impressive, given she was a little off balance early, but held on strongly to regain control.
A leap of pure joy was her immediate response, as she was cheered on by her longtime coach Caity Haniver, and from the stands, by her proud parents.
A failed final Clean & Jerk attempt of 108kg, that would have been another PB, was greeted by a shoulder shrug, and another big smile.
After all, she’d come to Glasgow as a Commonwealth Games novice, but she’ll leave having achieved a top five result.