The New Zealand Institute of Sport harvests the elite in sports and recreation – one of those special individuals being Lachlan Richards.
Lachlan, NZIS student from Christchurch, took home the New Zealand National Powerlifting Championship in August 2022.
Now he will go head-to-head with athletes from Australia, UK and Canada in the 2022 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship, which will be held this November.
NZIS is proud to be sponsoring Lachlan in the world championship being held in Auckland.
“I discovered powerlifting through NZIS. Their support and this sponsorship just comes to show why I chose to study here,” says Lachlan.
Powerlifting is a form of weightlifting. As part of the competition, powerlifters have three attempts to lift their maximum weight and are ranked in body weight and age categories. The winner is determined by who has the highest powerlifting total.
The winner of the 2022 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship is awarded prize money and becomes in the running for the open world championship in a couple of years.
Lachlan is determined to take home the Commonwealth title – training five hours a day for the last year.
When asked where his ambition comes from, Lachlan says: “I grew up with a family where sport was a vital part of being.”
“Sport has taught the critical skill of patience and discipline to achieve a given task – whether it be mental and physical.”
“For those wanting to achieve above and beyond in the sports and recreation profession, it’s important to learn the mechanics of sports science in an education setting and seek out opportunities to put that knowledge to practice.”
“Understanding the connection between physiology, psychology, motor control and biomechanics has played a huge role in my success in powerlifting – giving me the knowledge to pick up the best-suited work-out, recovery and diet to gain that competitive edge.”
Lachlan is currently studying a Level 5 Diploma in Sport Recreation and Performance at NZIS. Learn more here.
