Kiwi powerlifter Thomas Scanlon took out the overall sub-junior u18 80kg world title at the 2023 IPF World Championship in Romania. Source / Thomas Scanlon
A young New Zealand powerlifter has turned heads after his incredible victory at the 2023 IPF Junior powerlifting world championship in Romania, but it was his “Kiwi as” performance at the medal and anthem ceremony that saw him go viral and capture hearts around the world.
18-year-old Thomas Scanlon flew to Romania to take part in the junior IPF world championship in three disciplines, the U83kg bodyweight squat, bench and deadlift.
The Hamilton teen walked away with four medals: 3rd in the squat with a 252.5kg lift, 2nd in the deadlift with a 285kg lift, 1st in the bench press with a lift of 160kg, and 1st overall with a total lift of 697.5kg across the three disciplines.
To make it even more impressive, his deadlift saw him lift more than 3.5 times his bodyweight.
His energetic performance then spilled over into the ceremony where he could be seen belting out the New Zealand national anthem before pulling a pukana for the cameras.
In comparison, his fellow winners were rather subdued in their celebrations.
Young New Zealand powerlifter Thomas Scanlon turned heads after his incredible victory at the 2023 IPF powerlifting world championship in Romania, but it was his 'Kiwi as' podium anthem moment that sent him viral around the world.
Scanlon posted a video of the post-performance celebration, which has since gone viral. Speaking to the Herald, the high school student said he was so amped about the victory that his emotions poured out.
“I was with a couple of other lifters and they said when I win it you have to do a pukana or belt the anthem out. I didn’t say anything because I don’t like to assume I’m going to win anything, I’d rather earn it first.
“But then during the competition I had been taking pre-workout and caffeine, so I was already buzzing, but then being on the podium the adrenalin kicked in so I kind of had an overload and was buzzing and it all just poured out.
“I was real proud so just belted it [the anthem] out.”
While watching others compete, Scanlon also noticed the winners were subdued in their celebrations and thought “what’s the point of that?”. So when the time came to hear the New Zealand anthem he explained “I just went all the way, real proud, and did a pukana”.
“There were two other lifters from other countries who looked at me super confused because they didn’t know what a pukana was. It was pretty funny.”
New Zealand powerlifter Thomas Scanlon celebrates during his successful 285kg deadlift which saw him finish second at the worlds in the U83kg bodyweight category.
Kiwis took to social media to both celebrate Scanlon’s achievements and in true Kiwi style poke fun at his podium performance.
“Ma man singing it louder than the whole New Zealand population,” one wrote.
“Full-time powerlifter, part-time singer,” another joked.
A third said: “That’s mana right there. Loud and proud cuzzy.”
“It’s because the NZ national anthem fkn slaps,” a fourth exclaimed.
From scrawny Hamilton boy to world champion powerlifter
Scanlon’s rise to the top of the sub-junior powerlifting game isn’t your typical story.
Growing up in Hamilton, the now 18-year-old described himself as a “scrawny” kid who at age 13 wasn’t happy with his appearance.
Wanting to build muscle, he started out doing home workouts and bodyweight training.
“I used to be a really skinny kid. End of year 9 I was sick of being skinny so I started working out at home. There was a tree outside our house and I just started doing pullups on the branches.
“I used to put chairs together to do dips, I had to be quite creative with it. I then started doing calisthenics before becoming strong enough to transition into the school gym.
Thomas Scanlon as he attempts the deadlift at the World Championships in Romania.
In 2020 he discovered the sport of powerlifting, and by the end of 2021, in his first-ever competition, he took out the North Island school championship.
In 2022 he won the North Island championship for a second year straight, took out the national champs in his first attempt, and then progressed to the COmmonwealth Champs where in he also finished first.
But his sudden rise came with major hurdles. In 2021, Covid-19 lockdowns meant he no longer had access to gyms and specialised powerlifting equipment. Scanlon explained that others with financial means had their home gyms fully equipt to continue powerlifting training at home, whereas he had to improvise.
“I pretty much had to make do. I was doing pushups with my sister on my back. I got a suitcase and filled it with books, tied it around my waist and was doing pull-ups.
“It was frustrating to not be able to train and improve, whereas other competitors had their home gyms and could continue training.”
Fast forward to the end of 2023 and Scanlon is now a world champion, beating out the best powerlifters in his age and weight group from around the globe.
And his achievements at the powerlifting Junior World Championship wasn’t his last for 2023.
Just a few weeks ago Scanlon took part in the Auckland Cup where his performances saw him become the third strongest pound-for-pound sub-junior powerlifter in the history of the sport, and the strongest in 2023.
“At the Auckland Cup I hit new personal bests with a 262.5kg squat, a 165kg bench, a 300kg deadlift with a 727.5kg total weighing at a bodyweight of 77kg. That placed me 3rd all-time sub-junior (u18s) in the history of the IPF (International Powerlifting Federation) and 1st 2023 strongest U18 powerlifter pound for pound in the world.”
Proud of his rise, Scanlon says he’s only just scratching the surface of his talents and hopes his hard work will lead to even greater heights.
“I’m stoked to have reached gold, now time to go back to the drawing board, put in the ‘mahi’ and come out in 2024 even stronger.”
Heath Moore is an Auckland-based journalist covering trending, breaking, national, and world news. He joined the Herald in 2017.
