Derry weightlifter to represent Ireland in European Masters Championships

A County Derry man is set to compete for Ireland in the 2024 European Master Weightlifting Championship. 

Joe O’Hara will represent his nation in Haugesund, Norway, on Friday, June 16. 

And the Glack man is counting down the days until he competes. 

He said: “It is a dream come true, and I feel so appreciated and humbled, but I’m also really excited for it.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be representing Ireland at the age of 40.

“I’ve never been to Norway. I’ve been to, I’d say, 25 to 30 countries, so I've traveled a fair bit, but this will be my first time going to this part of Scandinavia. 

“Some of the weightlifting Ireland team have already gone out there, and we have been sent photos of the amphitheatre and the set-up. It looks absolutely world-class, so I cannot wait.“

The 40-year-old is no different from any athlete representing their nation at this competition, aside from maybe one thing.

O’Hara never planned to get into weightlifting and has overcome many hurdles in his life to reach this point.

He said: “I’ve had a number of injuries along the way, and my body is not actually built for being fairly lanky, and when I was younger, I was offered to get my knees set as they went inward but ultimately didn't.

“I’ve always been quite competitive, playing sports here and there, but I was doing a bit of CrossFit and in sort of local competitions, enjoying it, and focusing on long-term health more than anything else. I found I was quite alright on the strength side of things, but I tore my lateral meniscus at one of the CrossFit open competitions. I then went to the consultant with the doctor, and he said, ‘Look, you have too many birthdays' and that was when I was 37 or 38. But I still wanted to continue, and he told me to do the weightlifting and avoid the jumping, running, and skipping.”

But since moving into the sport, O’Hara has taken to it like a duck to water.

Well, after a bedding period with competitions.

He said: “Just before COVID, I built a gym in my back garden, and since then, I’ve been working away. I remember turning up to my first competition. I walked up to the judges in the weigh-in, and everyone was looking at me. I was asked where I trained, and I responded,'my garage’. The whole show erupted laughing, and they were like, 'seriously, where?’ And I had to tell them again ‘my garage’. They then took me and showed me how to warm up properly; it was good craic, to be honest.”

Throughout his weightlifting career, O’Hara has been incredibly disciplined in his training and diet, apart from his self-confessed love of an occasional Ben and Jerry’s.

And supporting him throughout his journey has been his family as he prepares to represent Ireland. 

He said: “My proudest moment was winning the master’s competition in Dublin. On the way up home, I saw this Instagram video I was tagged in, and it was Jacob and Nina screaming and shouting at the TV as I was lifting. It felt brilliant to see that.

“Jacob is eight, and he is absolutely brilliant. I have started to get him into a wee bit of training now, and he would come up to me every so often to James Knox. Now he loves nothing more than to train with his daddy and he respects James; he is such a great coach and guy.

“Nina is four, and she is a wee tasmanian devil, running around everywhere in the house. I’ve gotten my wife, Christine, into weightlifting in the last three or four weeks. It is a whole family affair now, as we would do random YouTube workouts together in the garden, and it is good craic training together.”

O’Hara trains early in the morning and whenever he can, as he balances family and work life with his weightlifting.

But while it can be time-consuming, the Glack man believes people should look to get into the sport.

He said: “It has been class, and what I would say to anyone is to get into weightlifting, even if just for the community. It is so inclusive; you don’t need to be an elitist at all. They are so inviting; it is brilliant."