MEDAL GOAL: Weightlifter Shane Wagner trains at the Toowoomba State High School Mt Lofty gym ahead of the Commonwealth Championships at Malaysia. Ben Drewe SHANE Wagner will put a year blighted by injury behind him when he represents Australia at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Malaysia next week.
Wrist injuries kept the 17-year-old out of competition earlier in the year before school commitments increased in priority.
But Wagner has overcome the wrist troubles as well as just graduated from Toowoomba State High School Mt Lofty Campus ahead of contesting the youth men 85kg division at the Commonwealth Championships in Malaysia from Sunday.
"I'm feeling pretty good. It's better than it has been the last six months," Wagner said at training.
"I had wrist injuries which stopped me lifting for about three months and then also work and school stuff held me back."
But now Wagner is chasing a Commonwealth medal.
"Hopefully a silver I'm aiming for. Gold would be good," he said. "There should be a few (tough competitors)."
With a personal best of a 103kg lift in the snatch and 128kg in the clean and jerk, Wagner is ranked second out of the lifters in his division heading into the event.
He has 21kg on his personal best total back to the next lifters, two rivals from Seychelles.
But there is a big mountain for Wagner to climb if he is to compete for the gold.
Indian Saini Shivam has a personal best total of 270kg, which is 39kg heavier than Wagner's PB.
Wagner and his coach Greg Hobl, who is also part of the Australian squad for the Commonwealth Championships, are remaining level-headed about their chances in Malaysia.
"I don't think we're going to get carried away thinking we're going to get gold but if he gets a silver of bronze we'll be pretty happy," Hobl said.
"At the moment, as a youth in under 17s, his best snatch is 103kg and best clean and jerk is 128kg so they're not bad weights, but we'd like to get him up a little bit more."
Hobl has coached as part of the Australian team before but it will be a proud moment for him when Wagner steps up to lift.
"I've been on a couple of these now. It's always better when you get one of your own lifters on it," he said.
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