Canty lifter off to Games

Press, 17 July 1978, Page 6

Canty lifter off to Games

The South Island’s only 1978 i Commonwealth Games weightlifting representative, George Newton, was given a rousing send-off fellow Canterbury! weightlifters when he left Christchurch for Edmonton yesterday. Newton, aged 42, who has formerly represented Britain in 50 international weight-lifting I contests, showed that he is a I

foremost candidate for a gold medal at Edmonton when he had a final training session before leaving. In a packed gymnasium other weightlftters ceased training to watch Newton’s impressive performance. He lifted well oven twice his own body weight in! the "clean” part of the clean and-.ferk, in which he will compete at Edmonton. Newton won three Commonwealth Games gold medals for Britain before he settled in New; Zealand after competing In the' 1974 Games in Christchurch.

Newton will compete tn tl feather-weight division at Ettamiiton on August 5 iN.Z. time). Other New Zealand weightlifters. all of whom, according to Newton, have excellent prospects for gold medals, include Precious McKenzie (formerly of South Africa), who will lift in either the flyweight or bantamweight divisions. Philip Sue (Auckland) will lift

in the light-weight class and Tony Ebert, a gold medallist at Christchurch, will lift again as a middle-weight. Brian Marsden. (New Plymouth), who will again lift as a middle heavy-weight, is picked as one of the strongest of ail medal prospects. John Barrett (Auckland) is also a good prospect for a gold medal. He will lift In either the heavy-weight or the super-heavy-weight (unlimited weight class) depending on the decision of the team manager (Bruce Cameron).