Canada's Maya Laylor sets Commonwealth Games records, strikes gold in weightlifting

Canada's Maya Laylor broke two Commonwealth Games records en route to a gold medal in the women's 76 kg weightlifting event in Birmingham, England, on Tuesday.

Silver medallist Taiwo Liadi of Nigeria lifted 96 kg in the snatch and 120 kg in the clean and jerk, coming 12 kg shy of the Canadian.

Maximina Uepa of Nauru had a total of 216 kg for bronze.

WATCH l Maya Laylor claims women's 76 kg weightlifting gold in style:

Laylor also took gold in the same category at the 2021 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent. Two years before that, the Canadian won the 71 kg title in Apia.

Her gold medal adds a seventh top prize to Canada at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. So far, Canadian athletes have also claimed a total of 11 silver and 16 bronze for a total of 34.

Emma Spence of Cambridge, Ont., captured her third bronze medal of the Commonwealth Games in the women's balance beam event.

The 19-year-old gymnast had scores of 5.100 in difficulty and 7.966 in execution to finish with a total of 13.066, 0.400 shy of gold medallist Kate McDonald of Australia. Georgia Godwin, also from Australia, took silver with 13.433 points.

Spence also earned bronze in the women's team event on Saturday and in the women's all-around final on Sunday.

WATCH l Spence lands women's balance beam podium:

Felix Dolci of Laval, Que., narrowly missed the podium in the men's vault and men's parallel bars finals, finishing fourth in both events.

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