Posing the question “why not me”, underdog Nya Hayman has broken through for Australia’s first weightlifting medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

The 21-year-old’s bronze in the 69kg category on Wednesday morning (AEST) was a welcome change of fortune for the Australian women.

A few hours earlier, Kiana Elliott had slipped in a crucial lift and was devastated to finish fourth again at the Games.

The day before, Brenna Kean was on crutches after a lift went even more horribly wrong and she had to pull out of the 53kg event with an ankle injury.

Hayman’s impressive performance came the day before compatriot Eileen Cikamatana will lift for her third-straight Games gold medal, competing in the 86kg category.

“I feel like coming into this, I was a little bit of an underdog. I haven’t always put my best numbers up.

“Nothing is impossible. I look up to Kiana, I look up to Eileen, who have obviously done amazing things on the world stage.

“I can do that, too. What can’t I do that? Always (it’s) giving it your best shot – in your training session, not half-arsed in anything.”

Canadian Charlotte Simoneau, also 21, was a class above her rivals and easily won the gold medal with a Games-record total of 240kg, 13kg up on Indian Harjinder Kaur and 22kg better than Hayman.

Earlier, Elliott slipped in her last clean-and-jerk and that put her out of bronze contention. She also finished fourth in Birmingham.

Beset by injuries, Elliott made the tough decision ahead of Glasgow to go up a weight class from 58 to 63kg, for the sake of her health.

But that meant she had to come up against 33-year-old Canadian great Maude Charron, who has won gold and silver at the last two Olympics.

Charron set a Games record of 232kg as she beat England’s Sarah Davies Smale, also 33, who won 71kg gold in Birmingham.

And then there’s 17-year-old Femily-Crystie Notte, who continued Nauru’s extraordinary run of weightlifting success by winning bronze. All its 10 Commonwealth Games golds have been in the sport and Notte won their 33rd medal.

“I have no idea what happened on that third attempt, honestly, all I wanted to do today was put absolutely everything into what I did out there on the platform,” Elliott said

“That’s what I did. I’m gutted (with) fourth – fourth four years ago – but I came in to put up a fight.

Elliott needed several minutes to compose herself after coming so close again to the podium.

She said it was not worth her health to try for the lower weight category as she battled injury ahead of Glasgow.

“Weightlifting is about lifting weights, it’s not about being a smaller person and I’m proud that I chose the difficult option,” she said.

“I’m not done yet. Fourth and fourth is a pretty tough pill to swallow. (But) I have to be really proud.”

Earlier on day five, Australian Ryven Ewing was fifth in the men’s 88kg as Malaysian Hafizuddin Bin Roslin Muhammad won gold.