Tony Ebert

Tony Ebert became a key figure in a golden age of New Zealand weightlifting when he battled his way to victory in the middleweight (75kg) division of the 1974 Christchurch Commonwealth Games weightlifting. It was one of seven medals the New Zealand weightlifting team of nine won at those Games.

Ebert, born in Christchurch in 1947, competed in three Commonwealth Games – 1970 in Edinburgh, 1974, and 1978 in Edmonton, as well as the 1972 Munich Olympics. He won six national titles, four at the 75kg weight and two at 82.5kg.

The Canterbury lifter – 5ft 2in or 1.57m tall - did well in Edinburgh, taking the silver medal behind Australian Russell Perry. Ebert totalled 402.5kg (press 137.5kg, snatch 112.5kg, jerk 152.5kg), but was a distance behind Perry’s total of 412.5kg.

At Munich, he found the competition in the 75kg division extremely hot. He recorded 137.5kg in the press, 117.5kg in the snatch and 155kg in the jerk for a total of 410kg. This placed him 17th, a long way behind the gold medallist, Bulgarian Yordan Bikov, whose total was a formidable 485kg.

Two years later, Ebert had high hopes going into the Christchurch Commonwealth Games competition, though Australian John Waterworth was the favourite.

The contest proved to be torrid and dramatic. Ebert, below his best, was only 5th of nine lifters after the first section of the contest, the snatch. His best effort of 117.5kg left him trailing well behind Waterworth, who set a Games record of 130kg, and Stan Bailey of Trinidad and Robert Wrench of Wales, who both managed 122.5kg.

Ebert would have been at long odds to win the gold at that point. However, his cause was immeasurably assisted when Waterworth, attempting the jerk, collapsed in pain and had to be assisted from the stage. Three times Waterworth failed to register a total.

Ebert lifted exceedingly well in the jerk, with a best effort of 157.5kg. Bailey, a New York policeman, managed 152.5kg, but could do no more. That meant Ebert and Bailey finished with totals of 275kg, but the gold, and the Commonwealth Games record, went Ebert, who had a slightly lighter bodyweight.

Ebert said he over-trained before the Games and also had to sweat off 7kg in the sauna to make the 75kg weight limit.

He said he was “fried” and was disconcerted to be so far behind Waterworth halfway through. “I wasn't in a good position after the snatch, but because I’d beaten him five times before, he probably thought I would out-clean and jerk him, as I had previously.

“On that night, I wouldn't have been able to, so I started reasonably light. He was so afraid I was going to beat him with a big lift that he missed his three attempts at a weight much higher than he needed. I completed mine and won.”

Looking back on the 1974 Games, Ebert said: “It was incredibly exciting. It was the birth of our sport, really, and we’ve done very, very well since then, as a minor sport in New Zealand.”

After losing his Commonwealth title in Edmonton 1978 (he failed to register a lift in the snatch and was disqualified), Ebert retired from top-level weightlifting and continued his involvement through coaching, administration and selecting.

He also turned to Masters lifting, as did his wife Jenni. It must be said that though Ebert was a good Masters lifter, his wife outshone him, winning several world titles.

Ebert took a marketing manager's job in Auckland in 1977 and later ran a successful real estate business on the North Shore. After a long weightlifting coaching career, he served as a physical trainer and psychology skills coach for New Zealand blue-water sailing crews headed by Grant Dalton.

Ebert was back in the news in 2015 when his house in Campbells Bay, on the North Shore, caught fire and was badly damaged. He was grateful the firefighters were able to retrieve his precious medals and other memorabilia.