Shire Speed And Strength

A massive comeback from Mätthew Gibböns at Australian Weightlifting Federation Masters Nationals in Adelaide today in the 40-44 110kg class.

Down by 11kg in the sn**ch, Matt followed a 137kg new National Record with an attempt for Gold at 142kg.

Not only was this rep a PB Jerk, it is a weight Matt has never cleaned before. 2 is all you need - and nobody celebrates like Gibbo!

NSW Weightlifting Association

Pretty good debut for North Sydney in the on the weekend by with 2 tries to open the game. The went on to win a close one that went down to the finals minutes.

.ventura79 taking out the Sydney Catholic Schools Cross Country Championship on Thursday.

Kim has added previously undeveloped general traiming capacities to her preparation this year as well as off track technical work that has paid off with PB's in every event, both on the track and now cross country.

A couple of highlights from out athletes this last few weeks.

took out the Ruth Preddy Shield in softball.

won the annual City v Country fixture with the City squad.

ventura79 obliterated the field in the Sydney Catholic Schools cross country championship.

signed with the in a multi-year development contract.

Kyara joined her brother Kayde in adding big kilos to her competition reps.

A 4kg pb sn**ch and massive 8kg on the C&J!!!! Not bad for u12 lifting.

The boys had a great day at the U15/Youth State Championships.

Simeon made all 6 lifts in his first competition. Bailey and Kayde both sn**ched 40kg for the first time and Alec put 18kg on his total.

Great comraderie in the session, the positive experiences continue to grow for these boys.

I wanted to follow on from my last post with the theme of important 3rd attempts.

For .sr.championships2026 I had requests from 3 additional lifters for assistance with coaching on top of 2 of my own. Given the importance of the competition as qualifying event, and that there was no official team coaches I was happy to oblige and determined to make sure they got the best support possible.

Firstly in this series, just missed 100kg on her final jerk. In qualifying we've been great at getting the reps we needed, but not the 'gravy rep' that just added to the completeness of a competition. Clearly we will get it when we really need it.

shannon went to the competition in true 'swing for the fences' mindset in an 88kg class that may not really suit him. Given the huge PB's needed, it was was the only valid strategy. Ironically, the missed 140kg 3rd attempt sn**ch was the closest of his 3 reps on the platform. As discussed with Coach Getting there was character building and he will be better for the challenge.

needed to improving his ranking at 79kg following a bomb out just 2 weeks prior. Discussing the plan with Coach I was very confident the goals could be achieved. Rory did the rest. 3 for 3 on the sn**ch, and strategically, followed the close 2nd attempt C&J at 168kg on 2nd attempt, I determined it was better to go up 1kg and grab a few extra minutes rest, Rory made the technical improvement with the jerk, and nailed the rep. That was an example of a 3rd attempt where everything clicked.

If you follow .lisha then you know that she's had a tumultuous few months with injury. Coach had a clear plan though and clear goals. Real time strategic decisions suit this lifter, and by the time we got to this 3rd attempt C&J we knew a massive PB attempt needed to go on the bar, and it was worth a try. She went out on her shield.

5 different lifters over the weekend, all in different scenarios, the call of the big 3rd attempt having varying degrees of meaning for their lifting life. I appreciate all the lifters and coaches putting their trust in me.

All a lifter can ask is to have the weight on the bar that they need to succeed.

had to increase his total by 2kg in this final Commonwealth Games qualifying event in the 110kg class, the last of 4 qualifiers.

208kg would be a PB - the clean was solid, the jerk just wasn't there.

Winning the head to head today was not enough, only the best total counts. Following up from Oceania Championships in Samoa just 2 weeks it, it was a mighty effort to go to .sr.championships2026 in Montreal and get this close.

Bronze medal today at the Universal Cup for this 99kg c&j enough to boost her total and ranking for the Commonwealth Games into 3rd place currently.

Bailey increased all his PB's in his 2nd competition. Alec made his debut and went 6 for 6.

You'll see both of these guys at U15/Youth State Championships at the end of May.