Papua New Guinea's weightlifting gold medalist, Dika Toua, has been invited to compete at the Beijing Olympic qualifiers later this month.

According to Radio Australia, the PNG weightlifting champion set a new Pacific record at the South Pacific Games and won entry to the Olympic qualifier from the 2007 World Cup in Samoa. She is being invited to compete in the 53 kilogram division at the Test Event, held on January 20 and 24.

'Toua entered sporting history, when at the age of 16 she stepped onto the stage in Sydney as the first woman to lift in Olympic competition - after years of lobbying by the sport's international body'.