Powerlifter pumped up for champs in Finland
CAPE Recife High School pupil Mbasa Qilingele will be flying the Eastern Cape flag high at the International Powerlifting World Classic Bench Press Championship next month in Vantaa, Finland. The event will run from May 13 to 19. It was her excellent performance at the SA National Powerlifting Championships for able bodies in Johannesburg and at the SA Powerlifting Championships in Bloemfontein last month that caught the eye of the SA Powerlifting Federation.
She came back home with gold medals in both events. The 16-year-old Grade 10 pupil is the only athlete from the Eastern Cape to be chosen for the eight-strong SA team that will be travelling to Finland.
“I am quite excited. I can’t wait for the event, but I am nervous at the same time,” she said.
“Being the only one chosen from the Eastern Cape is just the cherry on top. I am so proud of myself, this is just awesome.
“This will be my first international competition.
“I have been doing powerlifting for four years now. It’s just a sport that I thought I would try out because I was not enjoying tennis and archery. After a while I started to enjoy the sport.
“Coming back with a gold medal from Finland would mean so much to me, because I want to build a good record for myself.”
Although her preparations leading to the event have been going well, Qilingele’s biggest headache is accumulating enough funds to actually get her to the international competition.
“Things are quite hard at the moment, I need at least R30 000 for me to go to Finland.
“However, we have been hard at training with my coach at school. He is preparing me well for this event and I wouldn’t want to miss out.”