Sahari lifts it all in Montreal to bring home the gold
She went from being uncertain about the sport to edging out big names to setting world records at the Canada Masters Weightlifting Championships recently
Sahari Thatcher (48) made a clean sweep of it at this year’s Canada Masters Weightlifting Championships in Montreal last week. The competition took place from August 16 to last Friday, and the Indonesian-born Thatcher competed with steely determination.
She faced stiff opposition from all over the globe and snatched victory in the 45-49 kilogram women’s weight and age category. According to her coach, Ruhan Koekemoer, Thatcher’s achievement is all the more impressive considering she weighed in at 44 kilograms before entering.
“Just to put things in perspective, I compete in the men’s 35 to 39 age group, in the 96-kilogram category,” he said.
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Thatcher, who adopted the Lowveld as her home, approached Koekemoer two years ago to pursue Crossfit training though he suggested weightlifting instead.
“She started about two years ago. I saw the potential and she thought I was out of my mind. She entered her first competition and snatched 15 kilograms, and clean and jerked 25 kilograms in her first-ever competition.”
In the SA championships, which was hosted in Mbombela, Thatcher snatched 40 kilograms and clean and jerked 40 kilograms.
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She said, “This made me realise that I am a weightlifter.”
Since then, she qualified for the World Masters Weightlifting Championships in Barcelona, Spain last year, where she walked away with a silver medal. Koekemoer said she competed in a few other competitions as well, with a keen eye on the championships in Canada this month.
“Weightlifting is possibly one of the toughest mental sports I have ever done and she followed a punishing exercise routine in preparation for the champs in Canada.
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“Sahari exercised six days a week, doing snatches and clean and jerks. Olympic weightlifting is highly skilled and her preparations included different variations of the two.”
She added, “I achieved three gold medals in the snatch, clean and jerk as well as for my combined score, which was the highest total in my category.”
Thatcher set a world record in the process, though her scores in Montreal were below her personal best in the gym, according to Koekemoer. This coming November, she heads off to the SA Master Championships in Johannesburg before setting off for the European Championships in the Netherlands, and then on to Germany in August next year.
“I want to thank the community, Nelspartan and my coach for their continued support and encouragement which made all this possible.”
