Maiya Maneza

Maiya Maneza

Personal information
Birth name	Майя Манеза
Born	1 November 1985 (1985-11) (age 39) Tokmok, Kyrgyz SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.61 m (5 ft 3+1⁄2 in)
Weight	63 kg (139 lb)
Sport
Sport	Weightlifting
Event	63 kg
Medal record Representing Kazakhstan Olympic Games 2012 London – 63 kg Asian Games 2010 Guangzhou – 63 kg World Weightlifting Championships 2009 Goyang – 63 kg 2010 Antalya – 63 kg 2011 Paris – 63 kg
Updated on 25 July 2012

Maiya Maneza (born 1 November 1985) is a Kazakh weightlifter. She won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 63 kg category by lifting a combined weight of 245 kg and set a new Olympic record in the process.

Maiya is a member of the ethnic Dungan minority. Born in Kyrgyzstan, she moved to Kazakhstan in 2007 and competes for Kazakhstan. Chinese media reported that her name was Yao Li(姚丽), and she was born in TaYingZi Village, WuHuanChi Town, Fuxin Mongol Autonomous County, Liaoning Province, and was emigrated to Kazakhstan in 2008 along with Zulfiya Chinshanlo with the approval of Hunan sport officials on a lease contract. Following her Olympic medal win the People's Republic of China government news agency, Xinhua claimed that Maiya and fellow weightlifter Zulfiya Chinshanlo should be regarded as Chinese. The government of Kazakhstan rejected this claim and accused China of "poor sportsmanship".