Mansfield-et-Pontefract weightlifter Xavier Lusignan made the podium at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland on July 30, taking a bronze medal in the 110 kg weight class. Lusignan hoisted 159 kg (350.5 lbs) in the snatch and 197 kg (434 lbs) in the clean and jerk on his first attempts, though he wasn’t able to complete his followup lifts at higher weights.
He said that while he was hoping for a higher placing, he was glad to come away with a medal.
“We’re going back to the drawing board and getting ready for the next competition,” he told THE EQUITY.
He explained that once he finished his second set of lifts, he had done enough to make the podium but there were still competitors to come who could have overtaken him.
“At the time I made those lifts it put me in third position,” he said. “There was one athlete that had yet to come out, so if he had successfully done one of his lifts, then he would have overtaken me but he missed all three, which gave me the bronze medal. They overextended.”
He said that their strategy was to start out with a weight he was comfortable lifting, before attempting more ambitious weights.
“The first attempt is always something, you want to get one good one in, to be on the board, then your next attempts are either for records or higher medal spots,” he said.
This was Lusignan’s first time attending the Commonwealth Games and he enjoyed meeting the other members of Team Canada and athletes from different disciplines.
“It was a really cool experience,” he said. “There’s other things going on, other activities, different sports you can go watch, different athletes you can meet and chat with. It was good to see other people, not just weightlifting.”
Lusignan said that the next event he was preparing for was the World Weightlifting Championships which will take place in Ningbo, China at the end of October. His ultimate goal is to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
“That will mark the beginning of the Olympic qualifying period. It’s going to be a really important competition to do,” he said. “I know a lot of people who are going to try and go, it’s going to be a hectic year and a half.”
He said that recent changes to weightclasses had caused him to just move up to the 110 kg weight class, and he still had to adjust.
“I’m competing against guys who have already filled out at that weight class and are even bigger than the weight class and cut down, so there’s massive guys and I haven’t filled out the weight class yet,” he explained.
He said that coming from a small town, the support from his community meant a lot, and he hoped his success in sports would inspire other local athletes.
