UQ SPORT scholarship holder Amanda Phillips has her sights firmly set on the 2008 Beijing Olympics after dominating the 75kg division at the recent National Weightlifting Championships.
Representing the Cougars Weightlifting Club, Ms Phillips managed 84kg in the snatch and 106kg in the clean and jerk to give her a total of 190kg, beating her nearest competitor by 35kg.
But despite her impressive performance, the 26-year-old said she was hoping to make more of a statement in the lead up to next year’s Olympic Games.
“I was pleased, although it didn’t really reflect how my trainings been going, I was expecting a slightly higher performance as far as personal bests but it’s always tricky when you’re in more of a team event,” Ms Phillips said.
“Although weightlifting is an individual sport, at the National Championships we lift as a team so sometimes you’ve just got to take one for the team and start a little bit lighter to make sure you get the result you need.”
Ms Phillips is no stranger to international success in the sport, having claimed sixth for Australia at the 2000 Olympics and fourth in both the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.
But with only one woman to be selected for the Australian weightlifting team in Beijing, Ms Phillips said it would be a tough challenge.
“Certainly being the best person in the country in your bodyweight category is always a great bonus but unfortunately we are only going to be able to send one female to the Olympic Games so I’m also competing against other people who did particularly well,” she said.
“Coming first still puts me in good stead for building on bigger and better things so hopefully I might be there at the Olympic trials and be the lucky one.”
Amazingly, between all her training and competition Ms Phillips still manages to complete a full-time Veterinary Science degree at St Lucia, and said weightlifting had a positive influence on her studies.
“Because of my uni work I’ve had to cut my training in half because I just don’t have that extra time with all the contact hours and study, but I’m still right up there close to doing my personal best.
“Training is still fairly full on but it’s a nice break from all the studying; it tends to freshen up your mind a bit so you get more out of the textbooks when you’re reading them.”
Ms Phillips will have the chance to prove herself again on the international stage when she competes in the 2007 Commonwealth and Oceania Championships in Samoa in November.
Media: James Rigby at UQ SPORT (07 3346, 7518, 0423 417 000, jamesr@uqsport.uq.edu.au)
