Olly lifts first prize in XFit nationals

RONNIE SHORT

Golden Bay athlete Olly Gray earned first place in the Teens 16-17 Male category of the XFit NZ National Finalists competitions held in Cambridge, in December 2022.

The XFit event was attended by approximately 2,000 people. Winning the category was a triumph for Olly, having achieved second place in previous finals. As a keen, hardworking XFit athlete he is stoked that he won “by quite a margin”.

To qualify, contenders submitted a video of themselves completing workouts received online. The top eight from each age group qualify for the finals. Both Olly, at 17, and his brother William, 14, made the grade each in their respective age groups.

Several events are held across two days, where Olly won the dumbbells and toe to bar section, the overhead squats and burpees, and the 200m timed run.

A close contest developed during the lifting event which comprised of completing maximum snatches and a clean and jerk. With Olly’s challenger coming a close second, they went round for round until Olly ended up with a 2.5kg lead, having snatched 125kg.

In the final challenge, which involved repetitions of deadlifts plus rope climbs, Olly was the only competitor who achieved the full sets within the four-minute time limit.

Meanwhile William had been occupying first place on the drawboard until he was beaten in the lifting event by older peers in his age group. He still achieved third place overall, and beat Olly’s time in the 200m run event, which Olly claims to be “quite annoyed about”.

However, he is “stoked” for William, whom he reckons will one day make it to compete in America.

A lot of work goes into qualifying for the finals. Olly receives weekly workouts online from Blenheim-based trainer Khada Douglas. He then spends about 15 hours per week training in his own time at the MohuaFit gym.

Olly’s fitness journey began during boarding school in England. He’s come a long way since then, and especially since joining the XFit gym at Patons Rock when he was just 14, biking from town to Patons Rock and back, up to six days per week.

Since October 2021, Olly has been coaching several sessions at the MohuaFit gym.

“It has helped me in several ways,” said Olly. “I’m glad I did it growing up, as now I have a baseline to work from. It gave me something to do, kept me out of trouble.”

Olly has clearly grown into a healthy, strong, and fit young man who has the potential to achieve at the highest level.

In February he will travel to Palmerston North where he is joining the army to undertake an engineering trade. He will also take his passion for training and competing with him.