She’s raising the bar
When she isn’t busy breaking New Zealand weightlifting records, Sacred Heart College student Piper Gwyn is inspiring other young girls.
Gwyn, 16 of Lower Hutt, recently returned from the Youth World Weightlifting Championships in Bangkok, where she placed 17th.
While in Bangkok, Gwyn also broke the current New Zealand record for the clean and jerk by lifting 87kg, while weighing in at only 67kg herself - 2kg less than the maximum weight for her category.
Gwyn sometimes found it more nerve-racking to compete at club competitions, she said.
‘‘I had no expectations [at the world championships] because it’s such an amazing feeling to even be there … the adrenalin rush, it’s definitely something else.’’
This adrenalin rush was what drove her to continue even when training was difficult.
Being a female weightlifter was sometimes challenging as most girls her age were aiming to be thin rather than muscular.
‘‘For a long time, and I still do sometimes, struggle with [the idea of] girls with muscles,’’ Gwyn said.
She was the only female weightlifter at her club when she began lifting two years ago at Upper Hutt Crossfit.
‘‘We could just kind of see that I could lift quite well. I started doing it more and got better at it. I love the whole feeling I get when I achieve a goal or get a lift I’ve been working on.’’
She said there were many more girls involved in the sport now than when she started. She hoped other girls would be inspired by her success to pursue their own passions, regardless of their physical appearance.
‘‘I like that being a young girl, being strong … it’s becoming more acceptable for girls to be more muscular and strong.
‘‘If my body has to look like this to lift the weight it does then that’s just something you have to sacrifice, but it’s worth it,’’ she said.
Gwyn hoped she would one day be able to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games.