WEIGHTLIFTING: Simplice Ribouem and Tia-Clair Toomey have lifted themselves into Olympic contention after outstanding performance at the Australian Open in Brisbane.
But two-time Olympian, Damon Kelly, was unable to improve on his previous best total this year, and is still short of posting an Olympic qualifying mark.
Ribouem, a Commonwealth Games gold and silver medalist, was back to his best with a powerful performance in the men’s 94kg division, lifting a total of 351kg - five kilograms more than he needed to post an Olympic qualifier.
The Cameroon-born lifter contracted malaria earlier this year, and says he’s still not back to his best.
“I’m still dealing with it, I still have it on my mind,” Ribouem said.
“The last two weeks I was only cleaning 180kg, and I said to my coach I don’t think I’m ready.
“But my two boys said ‘Daddy, we are going to be there to support you. Don’t drop the bar again.’ It was so good having them in the audience.”
Ribouem said making Rio would be the icing on the cake for his weightlifting career.
“This is probably the end of my career,” he said.
“But I want to do something for the young people, to show how you can come back after a hard year.”
Tia-Clair Toomey smashed all her previous personal best records to leapfrog into top Australian spot on the Rio qualification table.
Erika Ropati-Frost, who was in the number one spot, was unable to compete because of a back injury, creating the opportunity for Toomey.
But the 22-year-old from Gladstone said she didn’tt feel cofident, after arriving home this week from a cross-fit event in Europe.
“Coming into today I didn’t feel as confident as I have in the past, I was a little bit exhausted after a 25-hour trip from Spain,” Toomey said.
She said 12 months ago she would not have believed anyone who told herself she would be in the number one Olympic qualifying position in 12 months time.
“I would have laughed,” she said.
“I get a bit awkward when that sort of thing happens. I didn’t expect to have achieved this by this time.
“It’s a bit of a journey for me. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself by setting numbers.”
And she also doesn’t want to close the door on her cross-fit career at this stage, even though she knows eventually it might have to give.
“Going to the Olympics is something I’ve grown up wishing to do, ever since primary school,” she said.
“Cross fit is something on the side, a bit of a hobby, but I really enjoy it.”
Kelly had been hoping to improve on his 370kg total he lifted in October, but ended with 362kg.
It means he has one last chance, in Fiji in May, to lift the 379kg total he needs to qualify for Rio.
“It’s been a pretty busy month, I’ve been a bit cooked in the past couple of weeks, I was feeling a bit flat out there today,” Kelly said.
“I was hoping to get either the qualifying total or mid-70’s today, but at least I know I’m being consistent.
“I’ll have a quiet couple of weeks over Christmas and then work out a plan.”
He said having Simplice Ribouem post an Olympic qualifier is good for Australian weightlifting.
“I think it provides motivation rather than pressure,” he said.
“It brings it to the front of the mind. I guess we’ve been in limbo a bit over the year, and now the pressure is on.”
Ross Solly
Weightlifting Australia
