Medical marvel eyeing Olympics

Jaydene Nepia broke 3 NZ records and won 2 Gold medals (in the junior and seniors) for under 48kg division at this weekends National Weightlifting champs. Photo / Andrew Warner

A former Rotorua teenager, written off by one doctor before her birth, is lifting above her weight and is now on track to the Olympics.

Jaydene Nepia, 18, won two gold medals at the National Weightlifting Championships on the weekend in her first year of weightlifting. The 46kg weightlifter is now aiming for selection to next year's Pacific Games, then the 2016 Rio Olympics.

She was born weighing just 1300g (2.9lb) - her mum said one doctor had suggested terminating the pregnancy because she was so small.

What's more remarkable is that Jaydene, a former Selwyn School student, has a rare illness shared by only two other people in New Zealand. Four years ago she was sleeping for up to 20 hours a day, a by-product of what the partial lypodystrophy was doing to her body.

Lypodystrophy is characterised by degenerative conditions of the body's connective tissue. Jaydene has just 6 per cent body fat and produces high amounts of insulin. Her condition is now managed by daily medication.

Jaydene now lives in Nelson but is back in Rotorua this week visiting her extended family, who still live here.

It was her mentor from Destiny Church Nelson who suggested she try weightlifting once she started to recover.

Jaydene Nepia. Photo / Andrew Warner

"He said my body shape would be suited to it," Jaydene said.

"I went to the gym and everyone said I was built for it."

That was earlier this year. In March she went to her first weightlifting competition and broke a New Zealand record. That led to selection for the New Zealand team at the Oceania Games. At the South Island Championships in Christchurch she broke her own record again.

The New Zealand Championships was her fourth competition and she broke three more records and won two gold medals - in the snatch with 45kg and clean and jerk with 57kg.

She has lifted 52kg in the snatch at the gym, as well as 65kg in the clean and jerk.

"People are surprised when they hear I'm a weightlifter. People don't expect it and don't believe me."

She has extra support from weightlifting legend Precious McKenzie, who is following her progress.