Strand weightlifter Jon-Antohein Phillips has qualified for the Commonwealth Championships scheduled to take place in Birmingham in the UK from Thursday 28 July to Monday 8 August.
This comes after Phillips won gold in the 73 kg division at the Mauritian weightlifting open championships, held in Mauritius a fortnight ago.
Phillips has set his expectations high for the Commonwealth Games, and rightly so. Some of his achievements include being named the 2019 junior men national champion of champions, the 2017 junior men national champion of champions, obtaining a bronze medal at the African championships 2017, and gold at the national senior championships 2019, and he currently holds nine South African records (6 in junior and 3 in senior).
Speaking of his Mauritian experience, Phillips said preparation for this competition was tough because he was initially supposed to go to Uzbekistan last year for the Commonwealth championships (the original qualifying event), but then a ban on travel from South Africa went into effect and he was unable to go.
“Then at the beginning of January, I had some inflammation on my pelvic bone which prohibited me from training as hard as I wanted to. Closer to the end of the month, I got sick and was able to train for a week and I was sent back to working in the office after working from home for two years. “Going back to the office was hard on me because I work far from home so the travel times are not easy. But even with all these things holding me back, I pushed through and trained as much as I could,” said the 21-year-old.
Despite these setbacks, he said the competition was a great experience; and even though he was the lightest in his group, he still managed to lift more than anyone in his division.
He successfully obtained a 120 kg snatch and a 155 kg clean and jerk, impressing even the heavier divisions.
“I compete in the 73 kg division which was grouped together with the 81 kg division. Initially I was nervous because this was my first international competition as a senior (21 years and older), but as soon as I did my first attempt on the snatch my confidence level was boosted and my mindset went from being nervous to ‘I’m going to beat everyone here’.”
And that’s exactly how it played out as Phillips walked away with gold, and just a week later received confirmation that he qualified for the Commonwealth games.
Phillips adds that Mauritius was beautiful, the weather was lovely and the beaches are gorgeous. “A few of my friends and I were taken on a tour of the capital city, Port Louis. We saw how the people live, what it’s like shopping and how efficient the public transport is. I’ve known a few of the athletes that were competing, but this gave me the opportunity to get to know them better. I made friends from Botswana, Lesotho, Mauritius, Uganda and a few other countries.”
Phillips now has his sights set on the Commonwealth Games and hopes that financial challenges will not dash his hopes of representing South Africa on the big stage.
“I’ve already started preparations. I plan on strengthening my weaknesses and working on the small technique errors I have noticed in my lifting.
“I plan on improving as much as I can in order to boost my chances of possibly winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.
V To get in touch with Phillips and help him get to Birmingham this July, contact him at 065 940 2652.
