WEIGHTLIFTING: It’s often seen as a solo sport, just an athlete against the weights looking to push just one more kilogram.
But for Jessica Lai, weightlifting couldn’t be any more of a team effort.
The 26-year-old is on a quest to make sure she’s on top of her game as she seeks to become the leading Australian female in the 63kg division at this weekend’s weightlifting nationals in Melbourne.
The Perth athlete is working hard with coach Brendan Kennedy to get the most from her body in training and in competition.
“Jessica and I are a team and we’ll work collaboratively to get there,” Kennedy said.
“We give each other feedback. She’s an emerging elite athlete, a real professional.”
More than 150 athletes will converge on Melbourne for the event, with London 2012 Olympians Damon Kelly & Seen Lee and 2014 Commonwealth Games athlete Francois Etoundi also in action.
Australian Weightlifting Federation High Performance Coordinator Jacqui White says the competition is a major stepping stone for athletes seeking Olympic qualification, with strong performances needed to secure spots at future events.
“Nationals is a qualifying event for the Commonwealth Championships and World Championships which makes it an important event for all athletes,” she said.
With hours spent in the gym finessing her technique and strength, Lai believes she’s ready to take on her biggest two rivals.
Lai will face Pacific Games medallists Kiana Elliot and Pip Malone in what is shaping to be one of the hardest fought divisions at the championships.
Elliot and Malone qualified ahead of Lai for the Games in Papua New Guinea, where they scored gold and bronze respectively.
With Australia only able to send two athletes from each division to the World Championships in the US in November, the competition is set to heat up in the next few months.
“It should be really interesting as there’s only a couple of kilograms between us (on combined entry totals), Lai said.
“Only two of us can qualify for Worlds so that probably makes our competition harder, plus Kiana, Pip and I are new to the sport.”
Kennedy says Lai is progressing really well.
“She’s doing two sessions per day with lots of bar work. She’s seeing very good results and should challenge for the top results.
“She’s worked hard and is focused on Worlds.”
A strength coach at AFL club the West Coast Eagles, Kennedy believes victory at the nationals will come down to strategy.
“It’s all about the game plan on the day,” he said.
“We won’t be too influenced by the others.”
The physio student has been competing for two years but is already dreaming of lifting double her body weight, around 120 kilograms.
“I’m getting close to double body weight, it’s maybe a couple of years away. I’m definitely capable of it,” she said.
“I’ll definitely need to focus on strength training and really just give priority to that training.
“But getting stronger takes time. You can’t rush the body to get stronger or push it more.”
Nationals kick off on Friday at 10am at the Eleiko Victorian Weightlifting Stadium, with the women's 48kg and 53kg divisions the first to be contested. The event will finish on Sunday with the men's 105kg division at 5pm.
Annie Kearney
olympics.com.au
