{"id":33147,"date":"2026-11-01T04:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T04:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=33147"},"modified":"2026-11-01T04:32:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T04:32:00","slug":"kugompo-city-siblings-pack-super-power-and-big-grocery-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=33147","title":{"rendered":"KuGompo City siblings pack super power and big grocery bill"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Miela and Andre Smit have schoolwork to finish, honours blazers to wear, world bench-press records to their names \u2014 and parents with a hefty grocery bill.<\/p>\n

Just a year after taking up powerlifting, the KuGompo City (formerly East London) siblings lifted their way into the record books at last month\u2019s African Congress Powerlifting Championship in Durban. Miela, 18, benched 62.5kg, while Andre, 14, lifted 122.5kg \u2014 about the weight of an industrial washing machine or upright piano.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had no idea I could lift that much until the day of the competition. I was the previous world record holder with 117kg, but that day I managed to break it,\u201d Andre said.<\/p>\n

Andre competed in the Teen 1 (13-15 years) over-140kg category, taking gold alongside his new world record.<\/p>\n

At 1.83m tall and weighing 165kg<\/a>, Andre tips the scales beyond the range of a fully grown Springbok rugby forward: he\u2019s 40kg heavier than lock Cobus Wiese, although slightly shorter.<\/p>\n

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Miela Smit, 18, in action at the African Congress Powerlifting Championship in Durban. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Competing in the Teen 3 (18-19 years), 110kg AWPC category, Miela also set national records with a 125kg squat and a 145kg deadlift, and was crowned overall best teen lifter. <\/p>\n

Both have since been awarded South African colours for international representation and earned themselves a particularly coveted school wardrobe upgrade.<\/p>\n

The siblings, who grew up in an Afrikaans-speaking household and attended an Afrikaans-medium primary school, opted to attend Stirling High, the local English school. The big attraction was the school\u2019s honours system<\/a>, which allows pupils who earn national colours in any discipline to wear a white honours blazer.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiela was insistent. I told her it was going to be very difficult to suddenly study history, geography and maths in English, but she wanted to and within the first term had made it into the top 10 in academics. Then Andre decided to follow, and he\u2019s doing really well too,\u201d said their father, Bernard.<\/p>\n

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World champion powerlifter Andre Smit, 14, with his coach, Neo Pheko. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keeping the two champions fuelled is a challenge. Their high-protein diet means mom Marijke does serious heavy lifting of her own when it comes to grocery shopping.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor most families, you can buy a kilogram of chicken fillets and that would be enough for everyone. But Andre can eat that much by himself in one meal. I don\u2019t keep track of costs, but I can say that Checkers Sixty\/60 is my best friend. Every day, sometimes twice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The siblings\u2019 interest in powerlifting began with conversations at the gym. Already regular gym-goers, they heard others talking about their powerlifting goals, achievements and competitions<\/a>. They signed up with coach Neo Pheko and haven\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndre is big. He\u2019s only 14, but he shot past me when he was 12. Now he\u2019s a giant brick house that\u2019s wide from top to bottom,\u201d Bernard said.<\/p>\n

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Miela Smit with Neo Pheko. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Miela, who stands 1.65m tall, brought a different kind of sporting strength to the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiela used to be a passionate open-water swimmer, so her shoulders are well built and strong,\u201d said Marijke.<\/p>\n

But nothing quite prepared the family for the moments that saw world records smashed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot imagine what it is like to see your child do their best and break the record. You run to the front to watch them, everyone is cheering and it\u2019s like your heart is bursting, and the tears just roll,\u201d said Marijke.<\/p>\n

For all the medals, trophies and records<\/a>, the Smit household remains reassuringly ordinary. The siblings do powerlifting training three times a week and cardio with their mother every second weekend.<\/p>\n

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Marijke, Miela, Bernard and Andre Smit at the airport. Miela and Andre both broke records at the African Congress Powerlifting Championship in Durban last month. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For both Miela and Andre, becoming the best in the world is just the start of their journeys.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course we want to do more and push ourselves harder. And who wouldn\u2019t want to compete overseas? We\u2019re definitely not planning to stop,\u201d said Miela.<\/p>\n

Miela\u2019s biggest challenge now, however, is her matric finals and working for the marks she needs to study medical technology and become a clinical perfusionist \u2014 a specialist who operates the machine that temporarily takes over the work of a patient\u2019s heart and lungs during surgery.<\/p>\n

Andre\u2019s ambitions are more typical of a teenage boy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy boy is just like any other kid. He loves gaming, he plays rugby and is into sport,\u201d said Bernard.<\/p>\n

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Miela and Andre Smit have schoolwork to finish, honours blazers to wear, world bench-press records to their names \u2014 and parents with a hefty grocery bill. 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