Commonwealth weightlifting gold medallist David Liti was awarded the David Dixon Award for his sportsmanship in assisting a fellow injured weightlifter Lauititi Lui of Samoa. David Liti is being hailed by sports commentators as New Zealand's star performer of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and a major Olympic prospect in weightlfigting.

The David Dixon Award is a four-yearly award given to the outstanding athlete of each Commonwealth Games, based on their performance at the event, fair play, and overall contribution to their team's participation at the Commonwealth Games.

David Liti (who is of Tongan descent) won gold for New Zealand in the +105kg division of the men’s weightlifting competition. The 21-year-old set a new Commonwealth Games record after achieving a total lift of 403kgs, breaking the former Commonwealth Games record of 400kgs.

Liti's main rival, Lauititi Lui (22) of Samoa, was injured in a weightlifting attempt as he tried to overtake Liti’s lead in the final stages of the competition. Lui settled for silver. At the medal presentation ceremony, David Liti pushed the wheelchair of Lauititi in assistance.

In a Commonwealth Games media statement following the event, David Liti said that he was grateful for the competition delivered by Lui.

“If there is no you, there is no competition”, said Liti.

“Thank you for being the challenger best suited for me to push myself. No doubt I will be seeing you soon and we will go head to head again.”

Born in New Zealand, David lived in Tonga as a child before moving back to New Zealand.