Brown Ramohaka sets Personal Best and Solomon Islands national record
Despite a sweltering hot day in Glasgow, Brown Ramohaka stayed cool in the Men's 62kg weightlifting.
Speaking before his opportunity to lift, he was quiet and focussed, but explained that he felt good: "I will do my best. The atmosphere is great." He walked determinedly to the barbell, and lifts 95kg in the Snatch with great ease.
He increased the weight for his next lift to 100kg, again walking confidently towards it. 100kg goes up with ease. The third and final lift was of 105kg, one kilogram above Brown's personal best and the Solomon Islands national record. He lifts, but unfortunately was declared a no lift by the judges, as he had a slight bend in his arm.
Before the next round, the Clean & Jerk round, Brown wasn't put off by the slip. He felt confident for the next round, that he would beat his PB and the national record.
Leslie Ata, Brown's coach, took the break in proceedings to reflect on the facilities in Glasgow. Each athlete had their own mat for preparation ahead of the competition, which was hugely different to in the Solomon Islands. "There are only two mats on the island. One for women, and one for men" Leslie explains, "they don't get enough time to train, as they also have jobs. Brown is a builder, so he works and then goes to the gym when he finishes at 4 or 5 o'clock and it's very crowded. You just have to wait and wait"
The Clean & Jerk round was undoubtedly a nail biting round for all watching. Brown's first lift of 130kg was declared a no lift, but this did not put him off. He increased to 135kg, however this second lift was also declared a no lift. Brown had to do his third lift immediately, again of 135kg, and this time lifted successfully. This lift broke his PB and the Solomon Islands national record, which made Brown immensely proud: "I went in and thought I must try my best, and did it on the last one!"
His combined total of 235kg placed him 7th out of 9.
Last Modified on 28/07/2014 10:26