Maddi

Maddi is only 15 but can deadlift almost three times her body weight. She weighs 52kg and recently deadlifted 130kg!

She has only been in the sport for a year. She got into it because her dad was training and didn’t want to enter a competition by himself. Maddi didn’t initially want to compete because she thought it would be too stressful and ruin her love of training.

“Now I love competing. I can’t wait for my next competition. It is so much fun; there is so much adrenaline,” Maddi says.

After competing in the NSW championships in December 2023, she qualified for the national competition. If successful there, she will qualify for the World Championships in Malta later in 2024. In the competition she must perform three types of lifts – the deadlift (her favourite), squat and bench. The best results from each are totaled to determine qualification.

She is quietly confident about her chances of success. 

“My coach says that if I nail most of my attempts, I have a good chance.”

Maddi trains four days a week. She says powerlifting helps take her mind off the stresses of school and other things. 

“It teaches you a lot about how your body works and the importance of sleep and nutrition.”

She is in year 10 at St Bedes College. Powerlifting has helped her to realise she would like to pursue a career in nutrition – looking at how food affects your body and its performance.

Maddi found out about the scholarship from Tiggy - a local powerlifter and Grow A Star recipient. 

“Tiggy is a great role model for me. She is always supporting me and gives me some good motivational talks.”

Having a community of support is important for Maddi. 

“My mum, dad, older sister and younger brother come and watch me compete. My dad has had to give up competing because of work commitments but my younger brother is keen to get into the sport. My coach Aiden, at the Hunter Performance Centre, is a great support too. It is good to have everyone cheering you on.”

Maddi is using her Grow A Star scholarship to help fund the cost of training and the entry fees to the upcoming national championships to be held in Newcastle starting April 26. 

Maddi says getting the Grow A Star scholarship made her really happy. She doesn’t have to stress about finding the money for this upcoming competition and can focus on training.

For Maddi’s mum Eri the scholarship came at the right time to allow her and her husband to try and keep supporting Maddi’s dream of competing on the world stage. Despite both working, with three kids, the couple struggles financially.

“Entering these competitions is very expensive so to have funding to cover that cost is very helpful. We still must fund travel to the World Championships if Maddi makes it, so every bit helps,” Eri said.

“Powerlifting is not recognised for Australian Sports Commission grants. That means there are few places to get help financially for Maddi's sport.”

The Grow a Star team hopes that Maddi realises her goal of getting a medal at a World Championships in a sport she loves.