Darren Liddel (born May 6, 1971) was a weightlifting competitor for New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

At the 1998 Commonwealth Games

1998 Commonwealth Games

The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...

 in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...

 he won 3 gold medals in weightlifting, a gold medal in each of the men's 108+ kg clean and jerk

Clean and jerk

The clean and jerk is one of the two Olympic weightlifting events .The clean portion of the lift refers to the lifter explosively pulling the weight from the floor to a racked position across deltoids and clavicles...

, snatch

Snatch (weightlifting)

The snatch is one of the two olympic weightlifting events .The essence of the event is to lift a barbell from the platform to locked arms overhead in a smooth continuous movement. The barbell is pulled as high as the lifter can manage at which point the barbell is flipped overhead...

, and combined total. He also competed at the 1994 Commonwealth Games

1994 Commonwealth Games

The 1994 Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria, in the province of British Columbia in Canada, from 18 August to 28 August 1994.The XV Commonwealth Games marked South Africa's return to the Commonwealth Games following the apartheid era, and over 30 years since the country last competed in the...

 in Victoria

Victoria, British Columbia

Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...

 where he placed 5th in the men's 108+ kg.

On his return home from the 1998 Commonwealth Games

1998 Commonwealth Games

The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...

 he received a hero's welcome in Te Atatu

Te Atatu

Te Atatu is the name of two suburbs in western Auckland, New Zealand: Te Atatu Peninsula and Te Atatu South. They are located next to each other some 10 kilometres to the west of the Auckland city centre....

. At the time he said: "Little did I know three weeks ago that I would be returning home to this kind of welcome. I’m speechless".

After the 1998 Commonwealth Games

1998 Commonwealth Games

The 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...

he was troubled by a worsening wrist injury, and within 2 years he had stopped weightlifting.