World cup title for Yates

FOUR years on from winning her first masters weightlifting world championship title for Australia, Jewish Melburnian Leora Yates secured a  world cup title last weekend in Auckland. Yates (pictured) won the 45-49 women’s +87kg body weight division at the 2023 Weightlifting Masters World Cup hosted by New Zealand Weightlifting, which also served as the Oceania and Commonwealth championships. Her best lifts of 74kg in the snatch, and 91kg in the clean and jerk, were enough to secure her victory, by a total of 26kg, over fellow Aussie runner-up Jennifer Zeven, and third place-getter, Kiwi Florence Alesana, who was another 9kg behind. Two more New Zealanders made up the field. Yates thanked her coaches, and said it was wonderful to be back competing on the international masters stage. In an Instagram post on Tuesday, still from Auckland, she wrote, “[I] broke some records, had some fun, and [there’s] lots to work on. But more importantly, my fire is back and [I’m] ready for more”. “I had an amazing time, not only lifting, but also coaching some fellow Victorians. “The masters [weightlifting] community is one of a kind.”

Credit AJN