The traditionally male-dominated sport has seen female lifters recently outnumber their male counterparts since 2023. Video / Ben Dickens / Sylvie Whinray
The gender balance in competitive weightlifting participation in Aotearoa is shifting.
The traditionally male-dominated sport has seen female lifters outnumber their male counterparts since 2023, suggesting old stereotypes of strength and power are fading.
Weightlifting NZ president and high-performance coach Simon Kent told the Herald there was ahypothesis around why there are so many young women pursuing competitive weightlifting.
“The big one, the obvious one, is the advent of CrossFit.
Junior women weightlifters Litia Nacagilevu, Olivia Selemaia, Mollie King, Madeleine Agnew and Drew Burrett, who train together at Papatoetoe Olympic Weightlifting Club. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
“A lot of these girls, if you speak to them, their first taste of lifting weights was in that environment. And then for many of them, they’ve really enjoyed doing a snatch and a clean and jerk, so they found themselves in weightlifting.
CrossFit is a style of group fitness labelled one of the fastest-growing sports over the past two decades. It blends movements such as weightlifting, kettlebell swinging, gymnastics, rowing and running.
Kent said the growth in competitive weightlifting over the past 10 years had also been evident.
Simon Kent, performance coach and president of Weightlifting NZ, at Papatoetoe Olympic Weightlifting Club. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
“Just about every national event we have, there are more women than there are men lifting.”
Women’s and girls’ participation in national competitions has been steadily increasing over recent years, reaching a notable jump above 50% since 2022.
Weightlifting NZ has registered 489 members to date this year — 258 of them female. In 2024, the senior and junior national championships had 59.78% female participants combined.
Kent said the increase was challenging stereotypes in a positive way.
New Zealand weightlifter Madeleine Agnew. Photo / NZ Herald
“We’re seeing a real transformation across all women’s sports. You look at the rise, how well the Black Ferns have done recently, the football, the Cricket World Cup.
We’re seeing a real boom, and I think that’s just being parodied here and weightlifting.
“It’s challenging stereotypes for sure. A lot of the young girls like to feel strong, not just physically, but psychologically and emotionally, which helps empower them and ready to take on different challenges.”
“When I first walked into a weightlifting gym [in 2002], women had just come on the scene internationally.
“We were still coaching women like they were men. That’s how the programmes were written, that’s how they were designed.
“There wasn’t really much of an understanding around physiology — there were a lot of stereotypes, that if a woman had her period, then we’ve got to go a bit easy.
“Fast forward, though, now, we understand the science a lot more. There’s still a lot to be done in that space, but these young women have a much, much better understanding of how their bodies work.
“And as coaches, we’ve got a much better understanding of what works and what doesn’t, and how the female physiology will respond and adapt versus coaching men.”
Six girls, one boy
This week, New Zealand will compete at the International Weightlifting Federation under-20 junior World Championships in Lima, Peru.
The Kiwi team consists of six females and one male.
Seventeen-year-old Mollie King from Wanganui, who will compete in the 87kg division at the event, told the Herald her passion for the sport stemmed from her heavy involvement in CrossFit as a youngster.
Mollie King: "We're only at the beginning of our journey." Photo / Sylvie Whinray
“I just started participating in barbell classes with kids, other children in my area, and just from there, I’ve just competed and kept training ever since.”
King, with personal bests of a 96kg snatch and a 116kg clean and jerk, totalling 212kg, said it was incredible women were taking over a traditionally male code.
“It’s super awesome and I think that the greatest thing is that so many of the girls are really young — we’re only at the beginning of our journey.
The teen is eating a protein-carbohydrate heavy diet as she looks toward the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“We’re spending money on food a lot.”
Junior women weightlifters Mollie King (left), Drew Burrett, Madeleine Agnew, Olivia Selemaia and Litia Nacagilevu, who train together at Papatoetoe Olympic Weightlifting Club. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
“For breakfast, my go-to is probably bacon and eggs, some toast with some avocado, bacon... I have three to four eggs. For lunch, I probably go for a pasta, some chicken, just potatoes, anything we’ve got in the fridge at the time. And then dinner is just meat, veg and carbs, and protein. Lots of protein.”
Nineteen-year-old Olivia Selemaia got into the sport at the age of 9 through CrossFit.
“I was more interested in the lifting part in CrossFit. So then we decided to go to look for weightlifting gyms around the area, and we found Papatoetoe. I joined when I was 12, and I’ve just been here ever since.
Selemaia enjoys the sport because she’s in control.
Olivia Selemaia: "I just enjoy being strong." Photo Sylvie Whinray
”It’s a lot more discipline for myself just to keep on top of what I can do and what I can control. I just enjoy being strong and just being within myself.
The Aucklander competed at the Oceania Junior Championships in Melbourne earlier this month as part of her build-up for this week’s international champs. She broke 25 records.
Competing in the 69kg category, she broke junior and senior NZ and Oceania records.
Selemaia has lifted a personal best 103kg snatch and 123kg clean and jerk.
“My long-term goal is the LA Olympics, but it’s not just getting there, it’s being in the fight to place on the podium.
Kent confirmed Selemaia, King and their teammates had great opportunities to be key competitors for New Zealand on the international stage.
“There’s a massive window for us over the next 10 years.
“We’ve got a rare opportunity in Glasgow 2026 — we’re only one of 10 sports on the programme.
“Then LA 2028. There will be a Commonwealth Games in 2030, and then ultimately our home games in 2032 in Brisbane.
“We’ve got a really cool 10-year window, [and] the scary thing is some of these girls will only be in their mid-twenties.
“So, it’s about keeping them excited in the sport so we can really see them reach their potential.”
Bonnie Jansen is a multimedia journalist in the NZME sports team. She’s a football commentator and co-host of the Football Fever podcast, and was part of the Te Rito cadetship scheme before becoming a full-time journalist.
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