Saturday’s stellar showdown

It was a long, long day and despite the obstacles, we made a success of the first inaugural joint Ireland and Scotland team versus a combined California team. Fun was had by all and it is definitely satisfying being part of something new in the sport of weightlifting. There has never been a competition like this before and it definitely opens up the possibility of greater communication with other weightlifting nations and can undoubtedly help Irish weightlifting.

We had an early start in the morning and after meeting up with the legend that is Charlie Hamilton, we ate breakfast and chilled out for a while. We were lifting at 6pm which is far later than any of us was used to, but all was well. Each lifter in our team had their own particular circumstances: Peter Kirkbride was getting sick all day and had was quite ill—he still lifted though and hit 140/170 and Power Jerked because his lower back was sore. Graeme Kane was a last minute arrival and rocked up after his shift as a fireman. He had less than ten minutes to warm up and he still Snatched 112kg on his third attempt and hit 140kg, also Power Jerking because of a sore back. The Irish boys were a little tired from the flight and long day, but Byrdie Clean and Jerked 150kg which made my day.

Sami ended up Snatching well hitting 95kg, 99kg, narrowly missed 103kg and hit 125kg in the Jerk. Byrdie hit 105kg on his second attempt and missed 108kg, but nailed 150kg in the Jerk. Kevin hit 110kg, missed 115kg and after getting it, Jerked 140kg. I missed my opener with 106kg and then hit it and followed it with 110kg. Craig Carfray hit 95 and 127 and missed 100kg and 130kg. Dale Cree ended up with an awesome 110kg and 132kg. Kyle Pearson ended up with 108kg and 145kg. Like I said earlier, Kirkbride hit 140/170 and Kane 112/140.

My warm up was negligible, because everything that we needed to host our part of the live feed was not there. A lot of time was spent starting up the whole process all over again as I frantically found a different laptop to use and when it was finally done, it was a major relief. We were forced to start a little late, but the crisis was averted and all was ready to go. I knew from my first five minutes with the bar and with 40kg that today would not be my greatest day. I was due to open with 105kg, but had to push it up to 106kg because I needed a bit more time in my warm up because of the rush. I missed my opener, but then got it and was also successful with 110kg on my third attempt. 60kg felt pretty heavy in the Clean and Jerk warm ups and it was only in my first attempt with 135kg that I felt comfortable. I then hit 140kg and missed the Clean with 142kg.

Pretty much everything I have been working on in training went out the window and I had to simply get the weights up overhead. The fact that I can hit 110/140 in this condition is a good sign because a year ago if I was in bad form, I could not have hit those weights. As lifts in themselves, they are very disappointing, but considering the conditions, I have to accept it and be realistic: I actually did ok. Four out of six is not bad.

I have a download week coming up and I need this badly to recover. The strength is there to get what I need and so is the technique. Now I need to be fresh enough so that I can express my proper potential and focus on myself as a lifter, not in any other role.

Thanks so much to Glenn, Dave Corbin and Matt Johnson for setting this competition up and even though it did not go entirely as planned; all the lifters and some of the online viewers really enjoyed the competition.