Darin takes gold at Commonwealth Power Lifting Championships

Sri Lankan power lifting champion Darin Weerasinghe took home gold at the Commonwealth Power Lifting Championships held in South Africa. 

Darin, who was a member of a team of nine which represented Sri Lanka, had stiff competition from countries such as New Zealand, Great Britain, India, Pakistan and South Africa. Darin took part in the over 120 kg open class which has the strongest and largest lifters, with some of the British and South African athletes weighing well over 140 kg.  Being strategic with his warm-ups and lifting smart, Darin went right down right to the last lift to secure gold with a lift of 205 kg in the bench press. Darin had back-to-back events and secured silver in the previous event.

The Open Raw Power Lifting Championship, held on the next day, saw a three-weight battle with giants and Darin was facing competition from world champion Mathys Herbst, the South African who weighs 181 kg. Keeping everyone on pins and going down to the final, the more experienced Mathys got the better of Darin and won gold while Darin took silver. Darin is the only athlete from the team to enter four events and has successfully completed three with one gold and two silvers. The final event will be on 17 September where he will be vying for a podium finish to be the only Sri Lankan athlete to win four Commonwealth medals.

Darin and the team train at High Octane Fitness and were sponsored by  Mlesna , Audi Sri Lanka, Interblocks, UTE CAT and Specialised Shipping Services.