Melbourne Jewish weightlifter Ashley Kolomoisky has finished fifth in the women’s 58kg division at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, setting personal bests in her first appearance at the Games.
The 20-year-old lifted 84kg in the snatch and 104kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 188kg.
Kolomoisky produced three successful snatch attempts, moving from 78kg to 81kg before completing 84kg on her final lift. She then opened the clean and jerk at 100kg and successfully lifted 104kg, matching her previous best in the discipline.
Her total was four kilograms higher than the mark she recorded while qualifying for the Games.
Kolomoisky finished level on 188kg with Welsh competitor Catrin Haf Jones but took fifth place under weightlifting’s countback rules.
Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade Lawal won gold with a total of 229kg, ahead of Canada’s Ann-Sophie Taschereau on 215kg. India’s Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam secured bronze with 199kg.
Kolomoisky’s result continued a rapid rise through Australia’s junior weightlifting ranks.
A former gymnast, she took up competitive weightlifting as a teenager and trains at Melbourne West Barbell Club under coach Caity Haniver. She made her international debut for Australia in 2023 and won silver at the Commonwealth youth and junior championships soon after entering the sport.
Kolomoisky went on to win the Oceania junior title in 2024 and earned bronze at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Fiji, where she set Victorian junior records.
She retained her Oceania junior crown in Melbourne the following year and later represented Australia at the Junior World Championships in Peru.
Her progress continued at the 2026 Oceania Championships in Samoa, where she lifted 80kg in the snatch and 104kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 184kg. That result secured her place in the Australian team for Glasgow.
Kolomoisky added another four kilograms to her total at the Games, with the 84kg snatch marking the strongest competition lift of her career.
Her fifth-place finish places her among Australia’s leading young lifters and gives her a solid platform as she moves from junior competition into the senior ranks.
Her rise comes alongside that of Melbourne lifters Layla Bloom and Ellie Zalcman, giving Australia an unusually strong group of young Jewish women competing on the international weightlifting stage.