Holly Pringle, 22, who grew up in Ettrick, will be competing in Canada later this year.
When asked what led her to powerlifting she said “peer pressure”.
She said she was encouraged to take up weight training by her aunt Tracy Pringle.
“I just kind of started getting into the gym consistently for a couple of months maybe. And she was like, ‘oh, your cousins are doing it, it’d be a good thing for you to aim for’.”
Pringle was studying at the time and another cousin Jonty McKinnell was writing programmes for the boys so he added her in.
“I just kind of hopped on that when I was at home over summer and went from there.”
Now the only one in the family doing powerlifting she said she was committed to the sport and the community around it.
“It’s a real good gym in Dunedin.
“Everyone’s got each other’s backs …[and there’s] good motivation.”
Lifting in the under-63kg junior category her best lift was the deadlift where she could lift 160kg — around two and a-half times her own weight.
More peer pressure led to her entry into the national team, Pringle said.
After competing at the national competition someone at the gym suggested she apply for the New Zealand team.
“I didn’t think I’d get in … I got lucky,” she said.
However, winning the women’s junior under-63kg section at the Southern Provincial Championship in March then placing third at the National Junior Powerlifting likely had more to do with it than luck.
She was now training four days a week in preparation for heading to Canada in September.
