Mollie, who is the head girl at Whanganui Girls’ College, said she suffered a back injury leading up to this month’s competition, but was still only 2kg off the gold and 1kg off the silver in the overall youth rankings.
“It was about keeping consistent with everything around it [injury] and making sure my body was in the best possible condition to bring my full self on to that platform,” she said.
“There was that feeling of, ‘Could I have given it more?’, but I think everybody has that.
“In that moment, it wasn’t the safe decision to make.”
Regardless, her lifts in Peru – 97kg in the snatch and 126kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 223kg – broke New Zealand youth and junior records and Oceania 81kg-plus records.
Her clean-and-jerk lift was 11kg above her previous personal best.
Mollie said she had enjoyed the step up to world-level competition.
“There’s definitely more of an unknown on the world stage and it’s a lot more serious.
“You can be friends [with competitors] but when you’re on that platform, it‘s business.
“No matter where you are, it’s still just you and the bar. You just happen to be in a hotel room in Peru, not in Whanganui.”
Mollie‘s first major medal, a silver at the 2022 Secondary Schools Championships, was won with a 50kg lift in the snatch and a 68kg lift in the clean and jerk.
It was not until last year, after qualifying for the Youth World Champs, that she thought: “Damn, I can actually take this somewhere.”
Mollie King (right) claimed silver and bronze medals at the World Youth and Junior Championships this month.
“I began training with my current coach, Gabi Peach, and it all started blossoming from there,” Mollie said.
“Training has been far more consistent and I’m far more committed to the sport.”
She finished eighth overall at last year’s youth champs, also in Peru, with an 84kg lift in the snatch and 105kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 189kg.
Peach said Mollie had all the physical attributes to be successful, but her dedication and mental approach to the sport had taken her to the next level.
“She holds herself to really high standards, but if she gets frustrated or training hasn’t gone that well, she takes the time to reflect and consider why,” Peach said.
“Mollie challenges her own way of thinking and how she’s approaching things. That’s the big difference, I think.
“When you take charge like that, that’s when the needle moves.”
Peach said Mollie had an amazing relationship with her family.
“There is so much power and comfort in knowing you’ve got people who support you 100%,” she said.
“Apart from the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, everything in weightlifting is self-funded, so Mollie and her family have had to come up with money for her to attend events.”
Mother Tania King, chief executive of Sport Whanganui, said she and her husband Shane King were extremely proud of what Mollie had achieved in the past few years.
“Her determination to push through the tough times and all those injuries really shows resilience,” she said.
“Mollie has had to juggle NCEA Level 3 and her head girl role with finding the time to train, working part-time and fundraising, which is inspirational for someone who is only 17.”
A back injury was not enough to stop Mollie King breaking multiple New Zealand records in Peru.
Mollie won gold in the junior and senior 87kg divisions at the New Zealand Weightlifting National Championships last October and broke the national Under-15 snatch, clean-and-jerk and combined records in 2023.
She said her combined lift of 223kg this month put her into the International Grade, one below Elite – “the best of the best, a la Olympians”.
“That’s 20kg more than I hit [in Peru] but I did increase my total [personal best] by 12kg.”
Peach said Mollie would compete at the Commonwealth Championships in India later this year.
“Her performance at that event will put her on the Commonwealth ranking list and, if she features high enough, she will be eligible for selection for the Commonwealth Games.
“We’ll go for it if it’s there, but no sweat if it’s not. There is an eye for the long-term.
“She will only be 18 then and still has three more years to compete as a junior.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
