It's a crucial weekend for New Zealand's weightlifters with many facing their one and only chance to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in July.
Among those looking to make their mark is Megan Signal - an athlete who's redefining resilience and making an emotional return to competition after an injury last year ruined her Olympic dream.
Signal was selected to compete in Tokyo last year before she suffered three shoulder dislocations and was forced to pull out just hours before her debut.
It added to a frustrating streak for the 32-year-old, who also missed the last Commonwealth Games due to an untimely knee injury.
But the 32-year-old made a successful return in Papatoetoe on Saturday after six long months recovering.
“I would say they’ve probably been the hardest months,” Signal told 1News.
“I was reading through all my journaling last night - I think it’s the first time ever I’ve been able to use the hurt as a motivation.”
The motivation did wonders with Signal winning the 71kg class after just two months of lifting work.
“I didn’t get to touch a barbell until about eight weeks ago with no weight so right up until that point it was really hard to see that this was even possible,” Signal said.
“That was really hard until literally the last week and a half where things just started coming together.
“Thank you shoulder for keeping it together for me!”
Weightlifting NZ president Simon Kent said he was stoked with the result.
“We're only four months post-surgery so to put that weight over her head in that short space of time is real confidence,” Kent said.
With another five months, she can be back to the weights she was lifting pre-Tokyo.
For Signal though, it’s more than just the numbers.
“I guess I don’t feel like I’ve been able to show what I’m capable of and I know what I’m capable of,” she said.
Now she just needs to practice patience and wait on rankings to get to the next stage of Commonwealth Games selection.
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