Kiana Elliott - Weightlifting

Kiana Elliott is a front runner of Australian women’s weightlifting. She is the lightest Australian woman to lift 100kg in the snatch. Competing in the 64kg category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (held in 2021) Kiana lifted a personal best and Oceania region record 101kg in the Snatch. Kana has her eyes set on qualification to a second Olympic Team for Paris 2024.

Beginning in gymnastics at age 6, Kiana saw success and adversity as a young athlete. Injuries ultimately informed her choice to move on from gymnastics. From a childhood dominated by the structure and rigours of gymnastics training and facing “retirement” from sport at age 14, Kiana quickly learned the importance of physical activity on overall wellbeing. It was through searching for another way to build and maintain fitness that Kiana stumbled into weightlifting. Fascinated by the sport, Kiana rapidly progressed in weightlifting and is still pursuing her potential in the lifts today. All the while knowing, that one day, beyond sport, life priorities will shift but maintaining physical health and strength will always be integral.

Questions

 The best thing about being a SASI Athlete:

Having the backing of some great minds in an organisation that truly cares about their athletes.

My favourite food to fuel me as an Athlete:

A good steak!

My favourite movie:

Up! 🙂

My favourite colour:

Blue.

My sporting hero and why:

Aliya Mustafina, a champion Russian gymnast, for her steely determination and perseverance that saw her return to competition after injury and again after having a child.

My favourite possession:

My three chooks, so much joy and backyard fresh eggs!

The sporting activity I most like performing:

The snatch, taking a barbell from the ground to above your head in one smooth movement is so deceptively simple and beautifully technical.

If I wasn’t doing my current sport I would like to be:

Travelling!

The most important things in life:

Being grateful for what you have, being able to work towards goals and be fulfilled by progress, wherever the goals are focused.

My ambassador activity tip:

Find something physical to do that you find fun! Whether that fun is from the activity itself or the people you do it with.

My favourite way to keep active:

Lifting weights.

The sport I like watching the most:

Gymnastics.

What sporting success looks like:

Doing everything you possibly can towards a goal, day in and day out, and then experiencing all the hard work paying off in the high of a big win.