Swan lifted more than three times his body weight to post a personal best of 222kg on his second attempt, and was seemingly tied for gold with Nigerian veteran Roland Ezuruike on 153.9 points going into the final round.ย 

But after both athletes failed on their final lift, the scores remained level and confusion reigned until Swan was announced as the winner.

"I came back off the third lift and I actually thought, 'Well, I've got bronze'," Swan said. "My coach said, 'Oh, good job on gold'. I was like, 'Yeah?'. It didn't make any sense. I thought they were winding me up."

The Men's Lightweight category pulled in athletes with a body weight up to and including 72kg. A coefficient formula was used to score lifts fairly against the athletes' individual body weight, and Swan was ultimately handed the gold by virtue of the second decimal point in the scoring, which was not visible on the results screen.

"I knew it was going to be a battle,ย but it's just hit me by a massive surprise that I actually won," Swan said. "It is just starting to sink in. It's absolutely amazing and incredible."

Malaysia's Bonnie Bunyau Gustin - the two-time Paralympic champion and world record holder at up to 72kg - was only 0.4 points behind in third but also could not produce on his final lift, relinquishing the title he won in Birmingham four years ago.

Mark Swan of Team England reacts after competing in the Men's Lightweight Final on day seven of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Photography Al Bello/Getty Images

For 50-year-old Ezuruike, there was no reason to be downbeat despite losing the gold by the narrowest of margins to an athlete half his age.

"This is sport for me - he's a champion and I'm also a champion," Ezuruike said. "We scored the same thing (but) I made a mistake, that's why I missed the gold medal. If not, I could have been the champion.ย 

"But so far so good, I thank god that I am on second place."

Nigeria's initial disappointment at missing the Men's Lightweight gold was short-lived. In the later women's category, Esther Nworgu won with a Games record score of 119 points, ahead of teammate Esther Oyema on 115.5. England's Olivia Broome took bronze.

Lifters at the SEC Armadillo were roared on by an enthusiastic crowd who had themselves been energised by Scottish actor Sam Heughan hitting the venue DJ decks during the build-up.

"The whole atmosphere here, the crowd, that was crazy," Australia's Daniel Bos said after finishing ninth in the Men's Lightweight.

"That gave me a massive adrenaline rush. It's really surreal because you have these little moments on stage where I'm like, 'Whoa, this is it'. It's really cool. I've never experienced anything like this."

Home favourite Finlay Davidson did all he could to raise the roof, placing fifth overall after topping group B with a best lift of 166kg.

For the schedule and results for Para Powerlifting, presented by Amul, click here