The 30-year-old sat and watched as the rest of the competitors in the men's 105 kilogram category completed their three lifts in the clean and jerk discipline, which had New Zealand's Stanislav Chalaev in the gold medal position and seemingly on course for the title with a total of 341kg.

Katoatau's first lift was at 194kg which if he pulled it off would guarantee him the gold at the first time of asking.

He duly delivered, and with ease, before smashing the bar into the stage and bounding off to celebrate with his coaching team.

At first the crowd did not seem to be aware of the historic achievement they had just witnessed and it was not until he came out and incredibly nailed 200kg with his second lift before failing at 204kg with his third that it was announced that that was Kiribati's first ever medal at a Commonwealth Games.

Katoatau, who carried his country's flag at the Opening Ceremony in Celtic Park last Wednesday (July 23), certainly realised what he had achieved but there were no tears of overwhelming joy but a smile as wide as the Pacific and a victory dance that the crowd lapped up.

Silver went to Chalaev for the second Games in succession, while England's Ben Watson took the bronze.

Katoatau and the whole of Kiribati dance with joy after he secures a historic gold medal in Glasgow tonight ©AFP/Getty Images



"I feel so happy," said Katoatau, who also competed at London 2012 Olympic Games.

"I'm so proud.

"I want to thank my coach and his wife.

"I want to thank the people of my country and the Oceania Weightlifting Institute.

"It shows that you should never give up and keep training.

"I will have a big party when I get home."

So, where is home?

Kiribati is a series of 33 atolls that straddle the equator in the Pacific Ocean stretching for around 4,000 kilometres from east to west and 2,000km from north to south.

It has a population of around 100,000 and gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1979.

Katoatau and the rest of the Kiribati delegation at the Glasgow 2014 Opening Ceremony in Celtic Park ©AFP/Getty Images



Kiribati used to lie either side of the International Date Line, but the Government there unilaterally moved the line eastwards in 1995 to ensure the day was the same in the whole country.

This was a shrewd move as Kiribati marketed itself as the first inhabited place on the planet to greet the new millennium on January 1 2000 which saw the world's media descend on Caroline Island, renamed Millennium Island, to record the event.

The country is home to the South Pacific's largest marine reserve but is also one of the low-lying Pacific island states seen as highly vulnerable to rising sea levels and global warming and frequently lends its voice to calls for action on climate change.

With Katoatau's medal tonight, Kiribati becomes the 57th Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) to claim a medal at the Games and the 46th to win gold.

The last CGA to make its debut on the all-time Commonwealth Games medal table was Grenada in 2006 when Alleyne Francique won silver in the men's 400m.

Kiribati also became the 22nd CGA to win a weightlifting gold medal.

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