LEPEKA Nanai is a tower of strength. The 33-year-old Melton powerlifter can lift almost 300 kilograms with ease.
But he says it is his spiritual strength that has driven him to “meet and beat’’ his challenges.
Nanai will draw on this when he competes in his first Open World Championship in Moscow this week.
Nanai has been blind following a workplace accident in 2003 and an assault in 2004.
“God’s played a big part in my journey, along with my family and friends from church,’’ he says.
“When things go well with my family, I feel only positivity and train that bit harder.”
New Zealand-born Nanai has been powerlifting for close to four years.
He qualified to compete in Russia after the national championship in March, in which he set three records.
“Since then the training has got a lot more intense and I feel that I’ve finally made it to one of my goals,’’ Nanai says.
“Yet I’ve got a long way to go to be on the same level as a world champion.
‘‘There’ll be some of the world’s most respected lifters who’ve been lifting for 20-plus years, so I don’t expect to come back with every medal. But it’s a great experience.”
