News Room Story: Test of Strength

This is a story I wrote for my university Newsroom, where we have to spend a day every week for four weeks writing a story on news we have found ourselves. Most of it is local news but you have the chance to write about things in other states if they haven’t been reported. It was written on a guy I met while making our short film, he is our protagonist.

The stories can be found at emunews.murdoch.edu.au and you can search my name in Journalists. All my stories have been edited slightly by the editor for a more Australian style… rather, an “Aussie” style, with more slang and traditional sayings. I can’t say I’m happy but if that’s what tickles their goose, dresses their salad or shakes their martini it’s not a big deal.

Test of Strength

By Camilo Cayazaya

Cannington local, Daniel Peter Macri, is set to take on the world in early November when he competes in the World Powerlifting Titles.

Macri started competing when he was 14 and broke two national records his first year. Now he has qualified for the next powerlifting world championships and is looking to make a mark for Australia on a global scale.

Primarily coaching himself at Muscle Pit, his partly-owned gym, the 18 year-old has 12 official world records for squats, bench presses, deadlifts, and totals (the sum of all three best lifts) over three different age and weight divisions.

“My personal bests have been a 410kg squat, 225kg bench, 270kg deadlift. They were all set last year,” said Macri. “[This year] I’m looking to do a 1000 pound squat, the first in the country’s history, that’s 455kg.”

Competing in the upcoming State Titles on July 12, Macri trains 5 nights a week for two and a half, to four hours hoping to eventually qualify for professional level competitions. But he will need an 1100kg total before he can achieve his dream, and he currently stands on 905kg.

Macri was worried about the way judging was handled and corruption at higher levels of competition.

“At international level some of the pro athletes are favoured depending on their sponsorship and the money they bring to the sport. Nationally a couple of lifters are favoured but it’s not big. Locally there’s practically nothing though.”

Even with the difficulties in making it to the top, Macri says drugs are out of the question.

“Yeah I have been offered [steroids] a few times, back towards the start of my lifting career, when I used to train at a different gym. No one at the competitions has ever offered me anything though.”

“I definitely know there’s a lot of competitors that do use steroids and a lot of other drugs. [Like] HGH, adrenaline, and pseudoephedrine.”

As a new blood in the men’s division, Macri has no current rivals to keep an eye on, but his greatest fear, he says is “living up to my own expectations.”

Lightening the mood, he laughs and says he eats just about anything to make it big.

“With our workload we need to consume a lot of food otherwise we’d have no energy to continue training. That means I’ll eat anything, pretty much.”

“I want to compete for as long as I can but my other ambitions are to get my Masters degree in Strength and Conditioning, and become a professional strength coach. That’s in about five years.”

Macri says the Olympics aren’t in plans because “powerlifting is not an Olympic sport, that’s why you can go professional.”

Macri is looking to compete in the National Titles on October 14 and in the World Titles in early November. The date has not been announced.