27 year old weightlifter Megan Signal has been conditionally selected to the weightlifting team to represent New Zealand at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Signal has been selected off the back of strong national results and a 2nd placing at this years Australian Weightlifting Open. She says she’s extremely pleased to be named to her first games team.
“It’s a huge honour to be selected and it represents a long road and a lot of work so I’m really excited and can’t wait to compete on the Gold Coast. It’s been a dream for a long time so this is a great feeling.”
Signal has been conditionally selected as she recovers from an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and will need to receive medical clearance to formalise selection prior to the games.
“My recovery is going as well as can be expected, I’m taking it day by day and just doing everything I can to get back to 100-percent.”
The inclusion of Signal takes the total number of weightlifters representing New Zealand on the Gold Coast to 13.
Olympic Weightlifting New Zealand high performance manager Simon Kent says Signal has improved rapidly in her four years in the sport.
“Megan's a very determined athlete who has worked to earn this spot and I look forward to seeing her compete on the Gold Coast.”
NZOC CEO Kereyn Smith extended her congratulations to Signal.
“We warmly welcome Megan to the team and wish her well with her recovery ahead of the games,” she said.
New Zealand has won 39 weightlifting medals at the Commonwealth Games.
The selection brings the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team size to 26 athletes across four sports.