Noosa Barbell Club flyer tells us that on Thursday 25 August, athlete Taj Marsh flew to Perth West Australia to finalise his build up to the U20/23 state and national weightlifting championships, which will be contested toward the end of the year. With these titles being the first face-to-face competition for the weightlifting community since the outbreak of Covid, the atmosphere for this three-day event is sure to be intense.
The plan was for Taj to spend the last couple of days training with Oliver Saxon from Ox Weightlifting and then enjoy a rest and recovery with team mates and the weightlifting community.
For Taj this was an exciting time as it also gave him the opportunity to meet an Australian weightlifting team member, Sua Nanai, who recently competed in the Commonwealth Games. To have discussions with such a person who is living the dream that Taj has made his goal, was definitely inspiring.
Then on Sunday 28 August, fit, well coached and inspired, Taj competed in the M89kg class snatching 126kg, and clean and jerking 152kg for a total of 178 kg for a PB total, and winning the silver medal in both the U20 and U23 groups.
What has made Taj’s effort in the clean and jerk so outstanding was that he had to overcome major muscle cramps in the legs. His reaction and follow up can only be described as a sign of true grit.
This young man is now very excited.
His next phase of training under coach (and father) Woogie Marsh, is one step closer to qualifying for more international events in the next 12 months. Also, during this phase, coaches will be working to build Noosa Barbell senior team to a level that will see them contest the state and national titles. Titles, that all being well, will be held at the end of the year.
Boxing
For Paige Robinson of the Impact Boxing and Fitness Centre, it is certainly an exciting time. Paige, our newly crowned 60kg amateur boxing champion of Australia is, as the only female member of the Australian team, getting ready to embark on two overseas trips.
Her first will be to Thailand. This trip will see the Australian team embark on a two-week training camp.
“I am very excited it is my first time ever into a south east Asian country.
“The training will great as I will be training with Thai and Australian gym mates.”
Her next big trip will be in mid-November. This will see Paige travel to Spain to represent her country as a member of the Australian team fighting in the world championships.
Page, started boxing when, as a 10-year-old, she followed her brother Cohen into the Impact club.
Boxing has been, in her words, “All very cool and I am loving every minute of it. At present my whole life revolves around boxing.”
When you realise that she trains five days a week it is easy to understand. On returning from Thailand, we will sit down with Page and her coach Mark Evans, hear about the training camp and talk about what lies ahead for this young Australian champion.
In the Impact Centre, professional boxers Ben Cameron-Hands and Brock Shelly have been active, flying to Melbourne for fights.
Coach /trainer Mark Evans said, “We have been getting great support from the boxing fraternity which now centres around the Melbourne Pavillion.
“These people have been so impressed by our team, not only by their performance, but also by the way they conduct themselves when away from the ring.
“There is now a big possibility that one or two will start getting fights on the same bill as the major title fight as. This will give our athletes good exposure in the media world as well as the big-time sponsorship.
“When this occurs, it can benefit both amateur and professional teams.”
For Brock Shelly his Melbourne fight was going to be hard. After a four year lay-off, the first up is always tough and he was against a very tough Shane Carlin.
After what was described as a slugfest, Carlin got a points decision.
However, coach Evans was satisfied with Shelley’s performance.
“Despite a big lay off, he was still going strong at the end of the four rounds and his performance was acknowledged by the promoters.”
Up and coming Ben Cameron- Hands put in yet another great performance and the result of three fights for three wins again has the promoters talking.
For this four times Australian Golden Gloves winner, his points decision against his very cagey southpaw Tyee Lee was impressive.
“Ben boxed well, we had a game plan against our cagey opponent, full credit to Benny, he stuck to the plan and retains his unbeaten record.”
With the performance of both Taj Marsh weightlifting and Ben Cameron-Hands boxing, the Noosa community definitely has two athletes worth watching. We wish them well.
