BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
SOLOMON Islands Female Weightlifting Coach, Wendy Hale has congratulated young male weightlifter, Philip Masi for his outstanding performance in the virtual weightlifting competition over the weekend.
17-year-old Philip Masi has competed in the 55kg weightlifting men’s category on 27 March at this year’s 2022 Oceania Weightlifting Online (virtual) Competition.
The virtual weightlifting competition has allowed the participation of young Philip Masi to compete against other weightlifters from the Oceania region.
Whilst it also allowed athletes from the region to compete in their home gyms in their respective countries.
“I am really happy because he has improved a lot from his previous competition.
“Masi achieved a personal best in the snatch; whilst in the clean and jerk, he achieved a better result compared to her previous record set at the previous Pacific Games in Samoa.
“Although he missed his last attempt, I am still happy with his lifting performance.
“However, although I am convinced with Masi’s results; I also would like to emphasize that we also need to do more improvements on some of his weaknesses,’’ she told raw sport.
The results from the virtual competition will be recognized in the Oceania World Federation Rankings.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Hale sees the event as an occasion for the local weightlifters in the country and the Oceania region to compete in aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
However, she said the Solomon Islands Weightlifting Federation (SIWF) also sees the event as a way forward to prepare local athletes to get fit for any future tournaments.
“The online competition is an OWF tournament cup and for me, it is a good idea to prepare our athletes for the next year’s Pacific Games including the upcoming Mini Games in Northern Mariana,’’ said Hale.
