The country's top female weightlifter is hoping to lift nearly double her bodyweight at the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Pip Patterson is training for an hour-and-a-half a day in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games Photo: RNZ / Eva Corlett
Pip Patterson competed at the previous games and holds New Zealand records across three weight classes.
She will fly to the Gold Coast in April alongside another 250 athletes, one of the largest contingents New Zealand has sent to the Commonwealth Games.
Formerly a gymnast, Patterson, switched to weightlifting after meeting her now-husband, weightlifter Richie Patterson.
Patterson never thought she would be big enough to be a weightlifter. At just over 150cm in height and weighing 53kg, she is pint-sized compared with other competitors.
She broke New Zealand records in her very first competition, a couple of years before the last Commonwealth Games.
Patterson then placed fifth in the women's under-53kg weight category at the 2014 Glasgow Games.
"It's hard to describe the feeling of being on the platform", she said. "You walk out and your body just takes over."
Patterson's best lifts are 79kg in snatch and 98kg in clean and jerk - nearly double her bodyweight.
Since having a child, those figures have dropped, but Patterson said she was not too fazed and planned to reach those goals again.
Running a business, having a young child and training was a balancing act, she said.
"Because we're so immersed in it, it makes it easier," she said. Luckily, her son Cooper loves to head off to the gym with the couple.
Finding more time to train is her main concern leading up to the games.
"The more you can push yourself in training, the better off you're going to be," Patterson said.
