Irene Jane Henry Ends Malaysia's 16-Year Medal Drought

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Monday, 27 July 2026

In a stunning Commonwealth Games debut, Irene Jane Henry created history by winning the bronze medal in the women’s 48kg category of weightlifting, winning only the second Commonwealth Games medal ever in the women’s category for Malaysia.

Competing at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow, Irene managed to lift 77kg in the snatch and 90kg in the clean and jerk for a total lift of 167kg. Irene was beaten into second position by Mirabai Chanu from India, who won the gold medal in the competition and set a new Commonwealth Games record in her category by lifting a total of 190kg, while Ruth Asuquo Nyong from Nigeria won the silver medal by lifting 168kg.

The 21 years old Sabahan weightlifter was marked as the first Malaysian woman to achieve a Commonwealth Games weightlifting podium finish after a gap of more than a decade, after Raihan Yusof achieved a bronze medal finish in the 2010 Games in India.

Key Highlights:

• Irene Jane Henry ends Malaysia's 16-year wait for a Commonwealth women's weightlifting medal
• 21-year-old Irene wins bronze on her Commonwealth Games debut
• Irene sets a national snatch record as Malaysia returns to the weightlifting podium

In addition to Irene’s impressive feat, she set an even more impressive record for Malaysia in the category of the snatch lift by achieving a weight of 77 kg, breaking her old record of 75 kg.

Although Irene came in third place, she said that she was disappointed not to win the silver medal by just a small margin after her performance at the SEC Armadillo on Sunday.

"I guess it just wasn't meant to be, even though I've successfully lifted 93kg many times before. Maybe I wasn't at my best physically," Irene said.

Irene went on to add that "Losing out on silver by just one kilogram really hurts, but I gave it my all.”I couldn't ask for another attempt because we only had three lifts, so I just had to accept the result."

There were controversies surrounding Irene’s campaign when her first lift of 90kg in the clean and jerk was declared invalid even after a case was brought forth by the Malaysian team against the decision, a ruling that eventually cost them the gold medal in the close contest. Nonetheless, the athlete managed to secure a bronze medal, marking the end of Malaysia's long wait in securing a medal in the women's weightlifting event in the Commonwealth Games. It was the country's inability to clinch a medal in the women's category in the last three tournaments in Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018, and Birmingham 2022, the latter being the closest with Siti Aisyah Rosli's fourth place performance.

The record-setting bronze medal is not only an end to Malaysia's wait for any medal at the women's weightlifting event in the Commonwealth Games but also reflects the depth of development of the country in this discipline.