NEHEMIAH Elder was nervous before stepping on to the platform, but the 16-year-old weight-lifter ended up delivering one of Fiji’s greatest sporting moments in the international arena.
“I had a lot of nerves here because it’s by far the biggest competition I’ve been to, but I really enjoyed it,” he said, speaking to the IWF media.
The Tunuloa, Cakaudrove lifter won three gold medals at the 2025 IWF Youth and Junior Championships in Lima, Peru which ends today.
The event featured about 500 of the best young lifters across 85 nations and ran for six full days with 26 sessions across two platforms.
Competing in the 89 kilograms A Division, Elder who is also a two-time Fiji Young Male Athlete of the Year was the only under-17 lifter in a tough field.
He lifted 152kg in the snatch and 180kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 322kg, winning gold in all three categories.
He narrowly missed a final lift of 188kg and improved by 70kg from his last IWF competition 14 months ago.
Elder has trained in Samoa and Australia and lifted 142kg in the snatch and 175kg in the clean and jerk at a Brisbane invitational.
“God’s been with me for constant training and belief.
“I am home-schooled, so I’m pretty much a full-time weight-lifter.
“In that time, I’ve trained hard, been to camps in Samoa and Australia, and made 142-175 in Brisbane recently.”
His father and weight-lifting Fiji coach Henry Elder, told The Fiji Times his achievement showed Fiji’s potential in the sport.
“There are so many kids with the physique and explosive power, a lot of them on farms,” he said.
“They’re all drawn to rugby, but we want them in the greatest sport of all.”
Nehemiah said his next steps were clear.
“I’ll just do whatever my coach tells me like I always do.”
