JEZZA Uepa has set his sights again in setting a world record in the super heavyweight power-lifting open category at the World Championships in the United States later this month.
The Nauru Islander is a former world record holder. He is in Fiji and has been training at the Charmans All Races Club in Suva for the world meet while waiting for travel arrangements.
He started as a boxer, but said power-lifting put him on the world stage.
“My aim is to break the total record in the squat and the bench. I am training on 10kg below the world record. I started power-lifting in 2008. Before that I had a different class and my body mass was 120kg.
“Now I am part of the super heavyweights and can compete with the biggest competitors from around the world,” he said.
Uepa formerly held the world record for his category at a lift of 415kg. Last year his record was slashed by Ray Williams of the US who lifted 426kg.
“If you become world champion, you have to treat everyone with respect. Don’t change your attitude, remain the person that you were when you started,” he said
Uepa’s eldest child attends school in one of the outer islands of Fiji and his second eldest daughter Maximina Uepa had participated in the junior category of the Oceania Weightlifting Championship.
Uepa, along with his compatriot Irving Harris, are in the country lodging their visas to attend the World Championships in Texas, US, set to begin on June 19.
