KEY POINTS:
An Auckland boat builder and fitness trainer are poised to become New Zealand's first Olympic weightlifters since 2000.
Mark Spooner and Richard Patterson should be confirmed as part of the team to compete at Beijing in August within three weeks after again exceeding the New Zealand Olympic Committee's qualification criteria when winning their divisions at the Oceania championships in Auckland.
"It should be a rubber-stamping exercise from the NZOC," Weightlifting New Zealand team manager Richard Dryden said.
New Zealand won the men's title at the championships, enabling Spooner, in the 69kg class, and Patterson, 85kg, to claim quota spots for China.
It is the first time under the current qualifying system that two New Zealand men have qualified for the Olympics.
While Spooner, 23, was expected to cruise in his division Patterson cannily went up a class to avoid Nauru strongman Yukio Peter.
"Yukio is a very good lifter so we thought we'd put weight on Richard and he could win the 85kg."
Patterson, who will revert to his usual class in China, obliged with a combined snatch/clean and jerk tally of 310kg.
Spooner set a 131kg national benchmark in the snatch before adding another 153kg in the clean and jerk.
Although the pair were impressive at Oceania level, Dryden admitted the prospect of success in Beijing was remote.
- NZPA
