Miniah Summerell (far right) lined up with her fellow competitors in the 87kg+ category at the 2022 Junior World Weightlifting Championships held in Heraklion, Greece. Photo / Supplied
Miniah Summerell (far right) lined up with her fellow competitors in the 87kg+ category at the 2022 Junior World Weightlifting Championships held in Heraklion, Greece. Photo / Supplied
Foxton weightlifter Miniah Summerell, 18, ended May in style, winning a gold medal at the 2022 Oceania Junior Weightlifting Tournament, after attending her first international weightlifting competition earlier in the month.
Summerell was the only athlete representing New Zealand at the 2022 Junior World Weightlifting Championship held in Heraklion, Greece, and competed without an official coach.
Shayne Nation, Summerell's coach, was unable to join her because taking part in weightlifting events is completely self-funded and, with a young family, Nation couldn't afford to take time off work to support his protégé.
Foxton teen, Miniah Summerell, was the only New Zealand representive at the 2022 Junior World Weightlifting Championship in Greece last month. Photo / Supplied
Initially, there were supposed to be three young women representing New Zealand at the junior world champs, along with coaches and parents, so Nation was confident Summerell would get the support she needed.
However, the other two competitors pulled out before the event, so Nation contacted Weightlifting New Zealand to arrange a Greek coach for Summerell as her mum, Stevie-Jane Harper, was going as support only.
"I wanted Miniah to have 'mum protection' as this was her first overseas trip," said Harper, "and with Covid and the troubles in Ukraine, I needed to be with her in case something went wrong."
The trip to Crete for the Junior World Weightlifting Championship was Miniah's first overseas adventure and she managed to fit in some sightseeing in her downtime. Photo / Supplied
Harper and Summerell had less than two months to fundraise to get them both to the junior world champs, and hopped on the first of five flights in Palmerston North on May 4, to begin the 48-hour trip to get to Crete.
Summerell's category wasn't until the last day of competition, May 10, which gave her plenty of time to recover from jet lag and check out the other competitors.
"About two days after we arrived, we took a bus to check out the venue," said Summerell, "the layout and format were similar to the national event [I'd qualified in] back home, but I knew the interest in this event would be way bigger."
Event training happened in the basement of a local hotel, where Miniah got an opportunity to check out her competition as well as work on her own techniques. Photo / Supplied
The training venue was in the basement of a hotel close to their own accommodation and Summerell met up with her Greek coach a few days out from her event.
Heading into competition day, Summerell and Harper arrived at the event venue for registration and weigh-in, but weren't able to locate the coach they'd met earlier in the week.
"Mum was looking for him everywhere ... even calling Simon Kent [the international comps selector] and my coach Shayne [back in New Zealand] to see if they could help track him down."
Time flew by and Summerell had to start her warmup, so Kent came online to video chat her through that, while Nation gave Harper a crash course over the phone in coaching with 10 minutes to go to the start of the competition.
Summerell was determined not to let the absence of a trained coach unsettle her, reminding herself it wasn't her fault, and to just make the most of the whole experience.
Hitting a personal best in both the snatch (91kg) and the clean & jerk (110kg) placed Summerell ninth in her weight category – an amazing result under the circumstances and making her mum super-proud.
"There were a lot of other positives about the trip as well," said Harper, "from our beach resort accommodation, to the fantastic venues for training and the event, and how everyone involved with the competition was really helpful."
The pair had a full day after the event to squeeze in some sightseeing, then set off on a three-day return journey home, involving another five flights!
Summerell's future plans include gaining her international farrier standards while working for Kāpiti-based Gavin Welsh Farriery, so she can eventually work and train overseas.
Her boss has been really supportive of her journey so far, fitting work around training where he can, as well as giving her time off to go to Greece to compete.
Summerell's weightlifting journey has only just begun, with her sights set on qualifying for more international meets and an ultimate goal of competing in the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Australia.
