MOST athletes measure their careers by the medals they collect, but for 73-year-old Sainimili Turner, there is still something special about discovering just how much she can lift. The veteran powerlifter did exactly that at the 2026 Oceania Regional Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships yesterday, where she secured two gold medals.
At an age when many athletes have long stepped away from competition, Turner was back on the platform, competing alongside younger lifters and showing that her appetite for the sport remains undiminished.
Affectionately known as Fiji’s “Iron Lady”, Turner claimed gold in the Oceania Masters squat, bench press and deadlift total before securing another gold in the bench press competition yesterday. Yet, even after decades of lifting weights and collecting medals, one particular performance caught her by surprise when she completed a 100-kilogram deadlift.
“When I lifted 100, I didn’t know I lifted 100, but I’m still very strong,” she said.
Her reaction reflected a humble side to a lifter whose achievements have made her one of the notable figures in Fiji powerlifting.
Turner’s latest success adds another chapter to a decorated career that has previously seen her make her mark on the international stage. In 2014, at the age of 61, Turner made her mark on the international powerlifting stage at the Oceania and Asian Raw Powerlifting Championships in Melbourne, Australia, where she set three Masters III world records in the 84kg-plus category.
She established a squat record of 140kg, a bench press record of 95kg and a total lift record of 380.5kg, adding another remarkable achievement to her career.
The records were standing for over a decade before they were broken last year by Sweden’s powerhouse lifter, Katerina Beremark.
Having returned to the Oceania Championships, Turner said she was proud to show that age should not determine when someone gives up on their sporting ambitions.
“It’s not that I’m old and I can’t do it. No, I can,” she said.
However, the Iron Lady’s ambitions extend beyond adding more medals to her collection, as she hopes her journey will encourage more Fijians, particularly young people and women, to take up powerlifting.
She believes the sport provides an opportunity for people from different age groups and backgrounds to discover their strength, while she is also willing to help those interested in getting started.
“They can just come and join the powerlifting and training, and I can assist them,” she said.
Her influence is already being felt within her own family, with Turner particularly proud of her grandson, who has been training for two years and has already won an Oceania gold medal.
Seeing him develop in the sport is another achievement she can celebrate, particularly as she continues to encourage younger generations to follow their own sporting ambitions.
Turner also acknowledged the support of her coaches, fellow lifters and the Fiji Sports Commission, whose encouragement has helped her remain involved in the sport.
Although she plans to take a week’s break before returning to training, her competitive ambitions remain firmly alive.
Her next target is the 2027 Pacific Games in Tahiti, where she hopes to have another opportunity to represent Fiji.
“I’m going to start from next week, one week break, and I can train for the Pacific Games next year,” she said.
At 73, Turner is still setting targets, still making her presence felt on the platform and still looking for ways to contribute to the sport she has dedicated so much of her life to.
For Fiji’s Iron Lady, two more gold medals are a cause for celebration, but they are certainly not her signal to stop.
Veteran powerlifter Sainimili Turner makes her first squat attempt during the Oceania Regional Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships 2026 at the FMF Gymnasium in Suva yesterday. Picture: LITIA RITOVA
