WEIGHTLIFTING: At six years of age, Brandon Wakeling fell in love with the Olympic Games. So much so that his parents built him a long jump pit in his backyard.
It was there that Wakeling’s Olympic dream was born.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games that dream becomes a reality, but not in athletics.
Wakeling is set to make his Olympic debut in the men’s 73kg weightlifting competition of Day 5. It will be the second day of weightlifting action for our Australians.
The 2019 Pacific Games Champion will become the second Indigenous Australian to compete in weightlifting at the Olympic Games, but he will face fierce competition in the field.
Amongst the lifters taking to the Platform on Wednesday is World number one Shi Zhiyong of China. Zhiyong - a three-time world champion - claimed gold in the 69kg competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games before the International Weightlifting Federation announced the redistribution of weight categories in 2018.
Others in the field include world number three Clarence Cummings of the United States and world number five Julio Ruben Mayora Pernia of Venezuela.
However, Wakeling is no stranger to overcoming obstacles.
The Campbelltown local’s Tokyo dreams were almost shattered when at a training camp in March of 2021 his middle finger was crushed in a training accident.
With a successful surgery and recovery, Wakeling is prepped to jump into competition.
The Aussie takes to the platform at the Tokyo International Forum at 2:50pm (AEST) to compete in his first Olympic Games.
Matthew Barnard
