Oceania Championships Produces Records at Expo Sydney

130 lifters were squeezed into three days at AusFitness Expo in Sydney and that squad came through with a slew of major results and records.

The audience magnet of the show once again was AI Temaki from Nauru, with his 402kg Squat upping the ante from his 400kg-even in Melbourne last March. 410kg/903lbs came up for AI too, but three reds on depth was the bad news delivered by the referees. When it came to points though fellow Nauruans Dave Mwaredaga with 763kg at 94kg and Dyke Daoe with 720kg at 85kg came out 1st and 2nd in the men’s overall Best Lifter score.

Other international standouts were USA’s Hayden Hagemeier with 572kg at a tiny 61kg bodyweight, the Barber of Lagos Jerry Anonye with 688kg at 94kg and Tongan/Australian Tevita Pongi with 726kg at 120kg.

In the Women’s lifting Australia’s Isabella Thomson continued to struggle back to her former 500kg form with 483kg at 72kg and grabbed Best Lifter here. In the heavier Women a good Total came from Riley Bell-Kainiu of New Zealand but 200 and 201kg Masters Deadlift records from Kelly Jarvie and Elizabeth Tassell were the lifts that set the crowd alight.

Onward and upward will go Oceania’s lifters from here, with the World Championships in Sri Lanka now only two months away.