By HENRY MORABANG
FEMALE power lifter Linda Paulsen has won three golds and a bronze medal to finish top in her 57.5kg class at the recent Commonwealth Power lifting Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand. Paulsen, originally from Manus but married to a Hanuabada man, was hand-picked to represent the country after first choice athlete Livingstone Sokoli was ruled out due to malaria.
She collected gold in squat with 172.5kg, deadlight with 175kg and total lift of 437.1kg while the bronze in bench press with a lift of 80kg pushing her to number one spot in her division.
Paulsen also won a silver medal for being the best lifter in the Women Open category while her New Zealand opponent won gold.
Overall, PNG finished the competition on second place while host New Zealand came first and Canada third.
Paulsen said on arrival that she was very happy with her performance. On the other hand, she was disappointed that PNG did not send the full team which could have a different story for the country.
She said she was happy to represent the country at the highest level and would do her best in future tournaments. Interestingly, Paulsen won the gold medal in her division during the Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa early this year.
Team Manager Hebou Asi was quietly impressed with Paulsen’s performance despite being the only athlete to represent the country. Asi who is also the president of PNG Power lifting Association said PNG cannot send the full team because of finance. However, he thanked Trukai Industries and Telikom PNG for their support to make it possible for PNG to attend the championships.
The veteran power lifter Frank Robby was over the moon as he celebrated Paulsen’s achievement at the Commonwealth Countries level. He said he was very happy with the Paulsen’s performance in New Zealand.
He said this is first time PNG to attend the championships as Commonwealth Power lifting Championships were only held in European countries with England – hosting the championships many times.
The next Commonwealth Power lifting Championship would be held in India in 2009 a year prior to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.