Career
She started Weightlifting in 2000, when she was tested in a talent identification program Erika first started to represent Australia in 2003 at the Oceania Championships. She had previously lifted 75 kilograms in the snatch and 95 kilograms in the clean and jerk (168 kilograms total) competing in a national competition in the 53 kilogram class.
After the 2006 she had an operation to remove a tear in her hip joint which she obtained late 2005 whilst training.
At the 2010 she competed in the 48 kilogram event, snatching 73 kilograms, which was an Oceania record, but unfortunately was injured during the warm up for the clean and jerk, tearing the internal ligament in her elbow, and was not able to secure a clean and jerk result. Currently, Yamasaki holds 23 Queensland, 15 Australian records and 1 Oceania record, including events in the under 16, under 18 and open categories.
2003 Oceania & South Pacific Junior Championships - Niue 2004 Oceania Senior & Junior Championships - Suva, Fiji World Junior Championships - Minsk, Belarus Mermet Cup (Army of the United States vs United States of America) - Melbourne, Australia Commonwealth Youth Games - Bendigo, Australia 2005 Australian Youth Olympic Festival - Sydney, Australia World Junior Championships - Busan, South of Korea Mermet Cup International - Louisiana, United States of America Commonwealth, Oceania & South Pacific Championships - Melbourne, Australia 2006 - Melbourne, Australia World Junior Championships Hangzhou, China 2007 Arafura Games Darwin, Australia World Junior Championships Prague, Czechoslovakian Republic IWF World Cup Apia, Samoa 2010 - New Delhi, India 2011 Arafura Games & Oceania Championships - Darwin, Australia.