Spartacus lifts hopes hopes of county

The entire county is behind Mullagh’s Britney Arendse as she competes for an Olympic medal for Cavan and Ireland this weekend but the para-powerlifter reveals she would be happy with even a new personal best.

Speaking to The Anglo-Celt on Monday afternoon, Britney (24) was just after completing her second last training session ahead of her Paralympic appearance this Saturday, September 7.

The two-time paralympian was feeling “pretty confident” in her abilities, with everything going to plan so far.

“We’re doing good, I’m feeling good in my training and in myself, so pretty confident.

“Training is going excellent, my coaches are very very happy, so we did very well today.”

With training going smoothly and feeling in her best form, the Mullagh native’s main concern was the heat in excess of 25C in Paris. This could cause swelling and put her over the weight to compete in the up to 79kg category.

“We’re just worried about swelling actually from the heat, that’s the only concern for weigh-in, you know we don’t want to be overweight by any means,” she said.

Strength

Nicknamed ‘Spartacus’ by her mother, because of her strength, Britney is hoping to lift “at least” 136kg this Saturday at 4pm Irish time. With a stage best of 128kg, this would be the heaviest she has ever lifted competitively. During the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Georgia, which saw her qualify for the Paralympics, Britney narrowly failed her 126kg lift on the first round but comfortably pushed the barbell up on the second.

She attempted 130kg in the third round but couldn’t make the lift. Having put in the work since then, the sports star revealed she has already pushed the 136kg barbell, but never on stage. The paralympian said she would consider herself “lucky” to get a personal best.

Bonus

“I’m happy to get a PB, I don’t mind, a medal is a bonus.

“Whatever I get is whatever I get,” she said.

Having arrived in Paris on August 21, she described the experience of the Olympic village in the French capital as “pretty good” however was somewhat disappointed with the level of accessibility.

“The village itself is not very wheelchair equipped, it’s very hilly, it’s very uphill when we’re coming from the dining hall.

“They didn’t really make it wheelchair friendly, there are ramps and everything but there’s still steps everywhere,” she said, adding that she needs to take “about ten ramps down” to where she needs to go.

“I have my bike now anyway so I won’t be pushing just after my training sessions,” she said.

“The support has been pretty good, everybody is giving me pep talks and everything, so everyone’s pretty nice.

“It’s just the heat that I’m not used to,” she expressed.