TWO OF BARBADOS’ MOST promising weightlifters left the island yesterday with high hopes of striking gold at this month’s Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships.
Ivorn McKnee and Brian Best, accompanied by coach/manager Andrew Callender departed the Grantley Adams International Airport yesterday, bound for Malaysia where they will compete in the Championships from November 24 to 30.
Speaking with NATION SPORT before their departure, Callender revealed that both McKnee, who will be competing in the 150 kg division, and Best, who will take part in the 69kg division, were in the best shape of their lives.
He maintained that anything less than gold would be a disappointment.
“The guys are in very, very good shape. Probably the best shape that I have ever seen them in,” an excited Callender explained.
“Our training sessions have been very intense leading up to this tournament, and they are firing on all cylinders.
“They are looking really good and both Ivor and Brian will be looking to come away with gold medals,” he added.
McKnee, 31, the 2008 National Sports Council Sports Personality of the Year, revealed that he will be using the event as a warm-up for next year’s Commonwealth Games.
Having won two previous gold medals at the Championships, he insisted that there was nothing to stop him from grabbing a third.
“I want to make a statement heading into the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
“One of my main goals when I get to Malaysia will be to break the record,” McKnee said.
“I’m in very good shape, and I have been practising extremely hard, so I don’t see anything stopping me from coming back home with a gold medal and the record.”
For 17-year-old Best, a student of the Lodge School, this will be his last chance to win a gold medal in the Youth Division, as he will be graduating to the Juniors on his next participation at the event.
And he will be hoping to improve on his bronze medal performance from his last outing.
“With this being my last year in the Juniors, I’m looking to go out with a bang,” Best said.
