He returned from a year out of weightlifting to claim a gold medal and national junior record. Now Thomas Farquhar has his sights set on bigger things at the South African youth and junior championships later this month.
Farquhar, 18, will be hard at work getting back to his best as he prepares to showcase his undeniable talents on the weightlifting platform.Having participated in the Arnold Classic Africa 2018 recently, Farquhar showed glimpses of his talents when he clean-and-jerked a massive 173kg to better the national record by 1kg.
He also bettered his own personal best by 13kg to make clear his intentions of wanting to regain the top spot in his division.
“It was incredible to be back on the platform after spending the last year on the sidelines. To know that I managed to achieve this feat with little more than national events, claiming a myriad of medals in addition to youth and junior records along the way.
Farquhar credits the work of Mona Pretorius, and more recently her father, Pieter, for his development in the sport, saying the amount of passion and commitment they put into each of the athletes showed in the performances produced on the platform.
Farquhar is currently under the tutelage of Pieter Pretorius, a provincial and national coach, who believes his progege can still produce many memorable moments on the platform.
“Look at the lifts he has achieved so far, at the age of 18. He still has three years to compete as a junior and he is already putting up numbers which some seniors cannot achieve.
“So I think he has a bright future and with a lot of hard work and dedication, I think he can become, if he is not already, one of the best lifters in the country,” Pieter Pretorius said.