Burger using SA Champs as test for Colombia

Burger using SA Champs as test for Colombia

The SA Senior Championships in Mossel Bay this weekend will give weightlifter Ruben Burger a chance to work on his strategy ahead of the World Championships in Bogota, Colombia in December. 

Burger finished fifth at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

He tells SABC Sport that the local competition will help him determine the ideal weight category ahead of the major event taking place in just under two months™ time.

"I've started prepping for Worlds, which is now in the beginning of December, about two weeks ago, so we're sort of using SA Champs this coming weekend as a testing platform to get an idea of what our opening lifts be at Worlds," Burger told SABC Sport.

"So, we can afford to play around a bit, and if something doesn't go according to plan then it's nothing too serious. So, that's the whole idea with SA Champs this weekend... Besides that, I'm looking forward to the rest of the year."

Burger was in the 96kg class in Birmingham a few months ago but, with changes to the weight category for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, it means he too has to make some adjustments, which he has already started working on.

"With the Commonwealth Games, everything went according to plan. I'm also lifting in a new weight class because, for the Olympics, they've now changed the weight categories, so I moved up a weight class," he added.

"Hopefully that will be a good change because then I don't have to cut weight for the events, so it's more about seeing how the heavier body weight reacts to the weights I'll be lifting, to get an idea of whether we can start on higher opening lifts.

"Or if the body is not yet accustomed to the heavier weights, sort of just play it safe on the opening lifts and then increase the weight from there slowly."

By Mazola Molefe