Gabi Dixson squats on her way to winning the 2020 New Zealand Strongest Woman competition. Photo / Raymond Feng
Gabi Dixson squats on her way to winning the 2020 New Zealand Strongest Woman competition. Photo / Raymond Feng
In just one year living in New Zealand, American Gabi Dixson has certainly made her mark both on the rugby field and in the gym. Sports reporter David Beck caught up with her about her latest achievement.
If you go to the gym when Gabi Dixson is training you might have to wait your turn, there's a good chance all the plates are on her barbell.
Dixson came to New Zealand from the US to play rugby at the start of last year and when she travels home next month it will be with a heavier suitcase, weighed down by the 2020 New Zealand Strongest Woman title she won last week.
She played Baywide Premier Rugby for Rangataua and in the Farah Palmer Cup for Tasman but during that time she found another love. A friend invited her to do some strong woman training at Tauranga's Lift Lounge Strength, under coach Rich Farrell, and she proved to be a quick learner.
"I always wanted to get into lifting and stuff but never had time with other sports and life. When I got to New Zealand I overheard a good friend of mine talking about strongman training and I was like 'yo, that's me, how do I get into it?'.
"She took me to meet her coach Rich Farrell and he got me into it - the rest is history, I fell in love with the sport and here I am now. There are so many things I love about it, I love the challenge it presents because everything is different and kind of unique.
"Rich was really creative with our training which was fun and kept it interesting, you never know quite what you're getting into. It's super empowering to start lifting something and think you're never going to get it up and then two weeks later you're popping off the ground like you never expected.
"It's such an empowering thing to work on something, grind on something and for it to come to fruition," she said.
New Zealand's Strongest Woman Gabi Dixson. Photo / George Novak
Dixson said winning the Strongest Woman title was "a pretty cool feeling". She had her work cut out for her up against the two-time champion Shayna Wirihana who she beat by a single point. She said her favourite events were the back squat, in which she completed 17 reps at 140kg in a minute, and the deadlift in which she lifted a massive 232.5kg.
"I didn't train a whole lot for the deadlift, I kind of just trained to get to where my best was and see where I could go. With the squat, I just wanted to smash it - training for it was really tough but I was really happy with my results.
"I think I really managed well between the events and controlled the controllables. I made sure I was hydrated, had the right nutrition on hand and had some really good teammates who helped me stretch and made sure I stayed out of the sun.
Gabi Dixson deadlifted 232.5kg at the 2020 New Zealand's Strongest Woman competition. Photo / Raymond Feng
"I kept my mind really focused and had fun, there was a good balance. The mental side is probably the biggest thing - you have to come prepared for everything to be different, for somebody to something you didn't expect. I felt like I was ready for anything."
She said she loved her time in New Zealand.
"The rugby has been really great, I've had a great time and it's been a unique experience playing a different kind of style.
Gabi Dixson squats on her way to winning the 2020 New Zealand Strongest Woman competition. Photo / Raymond Feng
"I think I've learned a lot from rugby and the lifting. The rugby has taught me a lot about determination and to keep on trucking when things aren't going your way. I think that plays back and forth from rugby and strongman really well.
"New Zealand has been fantastic. The people are great, the food is great, I've made a lot of friends who are like family to me now and it's beautiful, god it's beautiful here."
