Nauru at The Commonwealth Games - History

History

For its first participation in the Commonwealth Games, in 1990, Nauru sent only one representative, Marcus Stephen, who competed in only three events, all of them in weightlifting. He created a surprise by winning a medal in each of those events, including gold in the Men's 60 kg Snatch.

Stephen competed again in 1994, along with weightlifter Gerard Jones and runner Frederick Cannon. Stephen won his country's only medals - three gold. In 1998, Nauru sent six weightlifters and a runner to the Games, and Stephen again won his country's only medals - again, three gold.

In 2002, Nauru sent a team consisting solely in weightlifters, including the first Nauruan women to represent their country at the Games. For the first time, Stephen failed to win a gold medal, but obtained three silver. Nauru won fifteen medals, ten of which were won by women, including two gold by Reanna Solomon. Six Nauruan weightlifters, an astonishing proportion of the country's population, won medals at the 2002 Games.

In 2006, Stephen did not compete. Nauru failed to win a gold medal for the first time, but weightlifters Sheba Deireragea and Itte Detenamo obtained a silver and a bronze respectively.

In 2007, Marcus Stephen, Nauru's most successful sportsman, became President of the Republic of Nauru. In 2008, he became President of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation.

At the 2010 Games in New Delhi, India, Yukio Peter won Nauru's first gold medal winning the 77 kg division in weightlifting with a new Games record of 333 kg. It was the country's tenth gold medal in their history.