JERSEY’S Olly Dodds has returned from Fiji with “crucial lessons learned”, after becoming the first Jersey athlete to compete at the 2024 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships earlier this month.
“It was an incredible experience,” said the 24-year-old.
“After sitting on a plane for two days, actually being in Fiji, seeing the arena and all these other professional athletes, it was quite surreal to be honest.
“There were athletes there who have competed in the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, and I got to share the stage with them, it was an honour.”
Jersey has held a solid reputation for weightlifting over the years but Dodds admits that in recent times the numbers have dwindled.
“We have had fewer people going away and competing, especially in Olympic lifting, in the last few years.
“When the opportunity came about to send someone to Fiji, I had to complete my own score objectives to qualify.”
Dodds was competing in the Olympic lifting event, which is made up of two different lifts: the clean and jerk, and the snatch. Both movements require extraordinary levels of speed, power and technique.
Widely regarded as one of the best and most effective full-body exercises, the movements themselves carry a high degree of difficulty.
“The scoring system is done through competing three lifts in each discipline,” Dodds continued.
“Your highest weight successfully lifted in each is added together to achieve a combined score.
“I was pleased with my qualifying performances and I felt really confident in myself and the training I have done this year leading up to this competition.
“However, I knew the level of competition I’d be up against.
“Considering this was also my first experience of a competition of this scale, I just wanted to go there and try enjoy it as much as possible and learn from everything and everyone around me.”
Considering the level of athlete around him and the size of the competition arena, Dodds used his method of visualisation to help him prepare for the big moment.
“I’ve been using visualisation for a long time now and it helps me massively.
“It’s something a lot of top-level athletes do and I find it extremely useful to help me get into the right mindset before attempting a big lift.
“I wanted to learn more while there though, and I took the opportunity to speak to as many other athletes and coaches as I could.
“Sharing the space with Olympians, it was a crucial learning opportunity for me.”
In the contest itself, Dodds produced a strong snatch lift of 115kg. However, the Islander failed to record a successful score in the clean and jerk, frustratingly due to being called for an illegal “press out”.
Dodds explained: “I attempted 140kg for my first clean and jerk. However, I was called by the judges for an illegal move.
“In this movement, you must catch the bar above your head with straight arms. Unfortunately, my right elbow was slightly bent, requiring a push out to lock my arms, which is not allowed.
“My other two attempts were challenging, missing the second behind my head and getting buried under the bar on my third.
“It meant I finished ninth out of ten but, as mentioned before, the result was not the priority for me.
“It was an absolute privilege to get to wear the Jersey singlet with our flag on it at such an incredible and prestigious event. It’s something I will remember forever.
“Fiji is the most amazing place and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience.
“For me, the whole trip was more for the experience and the chance to put Jersey on the map.
“It was quite amazing, because I attended the annual general meeting on the Monday, representing Jersey, and it’s the first time that Jersey have ever had a representative at the Commonwealth weightlifting meetings.
“So it was quite an interesting thing to hear about, what they were talking about, the Commonwealth Games in general, the Weightlifting Championships, where they’re going to be held next year. It was fascinating.”
Looking ahead, Dodds expanded his plans for the rest of the year.
“It’s back to the gym for now for me.
“I’ve had a fantastic year training wise, but the performances in competitions have been a bit disappointing.
“This trip has taught me so much and I know I will be better placed when I next step out in a competitive environment.
“Spending time with these guys and picking their brains, as well as actually sharing the stage with them, it’s given me so much hunger to keep improving and working hard.
“Next up for me is the English Championships in a couple of months’ time, where I’ll be giving my all to try and secure a medal and qualify for the British Championships next year.
“I still have a lot of things I want to achieve in this sport and I’m excited to take my learnings back into the gym and kick on from this incredible experience.”
