Two Australians in Erika Yamasaki and Kiana Elliott will make their Olympic debut and chase personal best performances on the world's biggest sporting stage.

Erika Yamasaki steps up in the 59kg category in a field of 14 well established international athletes. Yamasaki jumped into the Australian psyche at the age of 18 when she lifted her way to a bronze medal at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Since that time the Darwin-born Brisbane based athlete has notched an impressive list of achievements including becoming the first Australian women to every lift double her body weight. She came to the sport after she was talent identified alongside her Australian representative brother, Josh, through a school-based program.

Yamasaki will maximise all the years of experience and training against the likes of Rio 2016 bronze medallist Kuo Hsing-chun of Chinese Taipei who is the favourite of the Women’s 59kg event.

Kiana Elliott will officially secure the suffix OLY on Tuesday as she gets lifts in the Women’s 64kg division.

A gymnast from a young age, Elliott came to weightlifting as a way to maintain fitness and wellbeing at age 14 after a series of injuries from her previous sport.

But the New South Wales athlete rose through the weightlifting ranks and onto the Australian Youth Olympic Team for the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games. Two years later Elliot shot onto the senior international scene taking out the Oceania Championships in 2016.

Elliott is making her Olympic debut at just 23 and will be joined by coach Martin Harlowe at her first Olympic Games.

Both Australians will be in action from 12:50am (AEST) on Day 4 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Matthew Barnard