McTaggart trounces weightlifting records
Cameron McTaggart is one to watch in Olympic weightlifting.
At the New Zealand Olympic Weightlifting Championships, the 17- year- old landed an impressive six new New Zealand youth (under-17) records.
He achieved lifts of snatch 115 kilograms and clean and j erk 136kg, adding 13kg to his national youth record that he set at the Auckland Championships earlier in the year.
McTaggart also won the national title in both the Youth and Junior divisions in his 69kg weight class, claimed silver in the senior division and took out best overall youth lifter and j unior lifter across all categories for the national championships.
‘‘I was very pleased with how I lifted,’’ he says.
‘‘It was one of the closest battles I have had in a while and that brings out my best performances.’’
It was his last nationals as a youth athlete in the under-17 category.
McTaggart had been training hard for the competition, in between school work and exams.
‘‘I was hitting quite a few personal bests,’’ he says. ‘‘I knew I was in the best shape of my life. I only had a short rest time between the Youth Olympics, the North Island Secondary Schools Championships and the National Championships all within one month.
‘ ‘ I had to be training hard with heavy weights, but decreasing the volume so my muscles could repair and be in peak condition.’’
He is now training for a club competition held tomorrow at Functional Strength, owned and run by his coach and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Richie Patterson.
‘ ‘ I am attempting to break the under 85kg New Zealand records, requiring me to pile on almost 10kg so I can compete in the weight division. I am currently sitting at 90 records broken in my four year career and hoping to reach the 100 mark by the end of the year. I will be the first New Zealand weightlifter to do so ever,’’ he says.
His club, Functional Strength Olympic, did well with 13 lifters at the competition.
They took five national titles, five golds, four silvers and one bronze, seven New Zealand records and three overall best lifter awards.
And they were also national team champions for the women’s title and the men’s team was third.
Pip Patterson took out the women’s overall best lifter award with McTaggart winning the youth and junior men’s.