New Zealand weightlifter David Liti has rubbed shoulders with some of his sport's giants in an impressive Olympic debut after finishing fifth in the A Final of the +109kg division at the Tokyo Games.
Liti began the night with successful snatch lifts of 173kg and 178kg before he was red-lighted by the judges on his third effort as he attempted 183kg.
The "big bear" told Sky Sport after his competition he agreed with their call.
"That snatch, definitely a red light," he admitted. "I knew it was a red light, but I hoped at least on other judge might give me a white.
"It is what it is."
Liti then shifted his focus to the clean and jerk where he began with a 229kg effort before successfully pulling off 236kg - a weight that smash the previous national record he already held by 5kg.
He then attempted 241kg with his final lift in an attempt to move up to fourth in the standings but couldn't get underneath it.
Defending champion Lasha Talakhadze ended up winning the gold medal by shattering his previous world records, lifting 223 kilograms in the snatch and 265kg in the clean and jerk for a total 488kg.
For contrast, silver medallist Ali Davoudi of Iran finished second 47kg behind Talakhadze. Man Asaad of Syria took the bronze with a total 424kg.
Having proved himself on sport's biggest stage, Liti said there was one feeling dominating his mind now.
"Now it's all done, I'm kind of homesick and want to go home," he told Sky Sport.
"There's been a lot of work go into this and I was nervous I was going to show it," he admitted. "I'm thankful that everything came together, but I'm sure next time will be a better performance."
One of those performances will be next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where Liti is determined to defend his title.
"I'll be straight into Commonwealth Games preparation," he said. "My quarantine will be my chill time.
"I can't wait. I don't normally like to be predicting, but I would love to win back-to-back at Commonwealth Games."
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