It’s a season to remember for Strand weightlifter Jon-Anothein Phillips, who again flew the South African flag with honour when he participated in the All Africa Games (AAG) in Ghana earlier this month.
Coming into this competition, Phillips admitted he was nervous, as he had to lose 6 kg to make his weight category.
“If it is not done properly, losing this much weight can also affect your strength on the day of competition, so I spent four weeks (directly after I returned from African Championships in Egypt) watching my diet and slowly losing the weight while maintaining as much strength as possible,” he related.
“Once I started training in Ghana I was excited to compete and give my best on the competition platform.”
Phillips said although the conditions of the athletes’ village weren’t great, he and others managed to have fun while there.
“I had a tough battle with the lifter from Madagascar to secure the bronze medal, but I managed to pull through and bring three bronze medals (snatch, clean & jerk, and total) home.”
He lifted a 122 kg snatch and a 153 kg clean & jerk at 72,6 kg bodyweight.
His opponents, one from Libya and another from Algeria, claimed gold and silver respectively.
“I had so much fun with the South African athletes in the other sporting codes and the medical team that supported us throughout the event,” Phillips said.
“I am tremendously proud of myself for how well I did in this event, as I am back at full strength and will build on this to break many South African records soon.”
He is preparing for the SA National Weightlifting Championships, which will be held in Cape Town in July.
