After being prepped and ready for travel to Hobart, plans were turned upside down in the days before competition as lockdowns due to COVID19 came into place across many Australian states. However, Australian Weightlifting came to the rescue, implementing an Online format for the competition. This meant that athletes were still able to compete, wherever they were in Australia, and Nationals went full steam ahead.
Athletes could compete online in hubs if that was possible, or even from their own homes. A very big thankyou to all Queensland families, coaches and friends for pulling together and making this happen for our athletes. It was no easy feat, but 43 Queensland kids got to experience a Nationals they will never forget. The entire competition was streamed live, which meant there was a strong online cheer squad presence throughout Australia witnessing some amazing battles.
It was a weekend of special moments. Congratulations to those who competed in their first Nationals. We hope you enjoyed every minute of the experience, and it now spurs you on towards new goals!
Amongst our Queensland lifters, there were many excellent performances, new PBs achieved, and National medals won. Medals and awards are arriving in Qld as we speak.
Queensland were successful in winning 3 out of 4 Team Shields. An incredible result!
Best U15yrs Female Team
Best U15yrs Male Team
Best Youth Male Team
We had a close battle with Western Australia for the Youth Female Team Shield, with the WA girls winning the shield with a 6-point lead. What a close competition!
Congratulations to the following lifters who received BEST LIFTER awards for the competition:-
MEDAL WINNERS BY CATEGORY:
UNDER 15 FEMALE
F40 Gold Amelie Graham
F45 Silver Zoe Christie
F49 Gold Olivia Coker
F49 Silver Amelia Baiada
F59 Gold Kaiya Ngahina Marsh
F64 Silver Ika Ryan
F71 Gold Natasha Lynch
F71 Silver Gabi Williams
F71 Bronze Eve Davies
F76 Gold Alana Castle
F76 Silver Selina Richards
F76 Bronze Lily Hayes
F87+ Bronze Addison Jeffries
YOUTH FEMALE
F45 Silver Zoe Christie
F59 Bronze Kaiya Ngahina Marsh
F64 Gold Lily Strange
F64 Silver Grace Davies
F64 Bronze Nya Hayman
F71 Silver Jessica Gorka
F76 Bronze Alana Castle
F87+ Silver Skye Wilson
U15 MALE
M49 Gold Asher Manz
M55 Gold Nate Thorley
M61 Gold Joshua Strange
M61 Bronze Levi Deans
M89 Silver Kyle Munyard
M96 Gold Hilton Im
M109+ Gold Joshua Sweet
YOUTH MALE
M49 Gold Asher Manz
M61 Gold Joshua Strange
M61 Bronze Levi Deans
M67 Gold Harper Manz
M67 Silver Luke Bidgood
M81 Bronze Joshua Reynolds
M89 Gold Taj Marsh
M89 Silver Lewis Symonds
M102 Gold Sylvan Richardson
Special thanks to Queensland Weightlifting Association staff, and the Australian Weightlifting Federation for bringing this competition together under difficult circumstances and making it such a success.
A big shout out to the Queensland Coaching Team and Manager, who put in so much work in preparation to compete in Hobart, only to find themselves re-organising athletes for the online competition almost daily as circumstances changed with Qld lockdowns.
Sonia Stenhouse (Head Coach)
Miles Wydall
Jax Solofa
Christian Hopper
Bryce Knight (Team Manager)
Finally, thank you to the families, friends, and personal coaches who supported our athletes in the lead-up and during the weekend of competition. Our kids wouldn’t have had the opportunity to compete in this comp if not for your assistance. For those who found themselves running an online comp for the first time, we congratulate you on such a great effort! I know many (like me) found themselves out of their comfort zone at times getting the online tech organised, and some parents turned into coaches at the last minute, but WE DID IT!! How extremely fortunate we are to have such a strong network within our Queensland Weightlifting community.
Kind regards
Sonia Stenhouse
