Welcome to Liam's Weightlifing Website

Scottish Open Schoolboys-August 2003-

Report by George Whiteway

Four clubs competed, Kilwinning Weighlifting Club was the venue.

St Gabriel's weightlifting did Ardoyne and Northern Ireland proud at the Scottish Open Schoolboys inter club competition. From the moment the team left the club that Friday at 1pm the coach was bombarded with questions of what's their lifters like, how many clubs will be there, are they stronger than us?

Ronnie Whiteway told them "don't worry you boys are as good if not better than any schoolboy anywhere, just do you best." The best they certainly did. Each and everyone of them broke their personal best lifts.

Four clubs were in the competition, Kilwinning Weightlifting club was the venue and they had the most lifters, the other clubs were St Gabriel's, Kilmarnock and Glenrothes. The competition started off with a line up of the lifters from each club, if it was to be contested on being the best turned out club St Gabriel's with their new rig out from B.A.N.D. Distribution would have lifted well and more there, Ryan McNeill a win great lifter always improving, Robert Waite a win very dependable young lifter. David Gibney a newcomer to the sport lifted well and recorded a win. Liam Mullan with new lifting boots tried the squat lift and missed it his coach told him to go back to the split and he recorded a personal best in the clean & jerk 2nd place was his reward, Joe Magee as his coach would say, what kid would try the patience of a saint! Lifted brilliantly 6 out of 6 lifts. John Cromie the star of the competition and was 2nd in the British a month ago went onto the platform and hammered the total of the winner of the British upped his personal best and set a new Irish record he also got a win.

The Scottish coach and organizer of the weightlifting competition said if there had have been a best lifter award young John Cromie would have won it. The home team Kilwinning won the event with St Gabriel's Equal 2nd with Kilmarnock, Olympia 4th and Glenrothes 5th.

With our lifters was senior coach Ronnie Whiteway, Assistant coach John Lawler and travel coordinator,child minder and gofer Liam Whiteway.

A good weekend was had by all.