A Christchurch couple are working hard to chase powerlifting glory - and their efforts are paying off.
James Schroder, 36, is a national and international-level powerlifting coach out of Atlas Gymnasium in Addington.
His partner, Megan-Li Smith, 28, is one of his best athletes but the couple try to keep their sporting and personal lives separate where possible.
“If it wasn’t working and we were going backwards, if we were clashing all the time at home then it would be different, but we’re winning, making progress and climbing the world,” Schroder said.
A powerlifting competition requires athletes to attempt the squat, bench, and deadlift three times.
The heaviest successful attempt from each lift is added together and the powerlifter with the highest total wins the weight class.
The dedication required to succeed in powerlifting is hard, so having a partner who understands exactly what the athlete is going through is extremely beneficial.
“My entire world revolves around lifting. I put lifting ahead of my family, my friends, my work, so it’s good to have someone who understands how passionate I am about this,” Smith said.
The couple met at a competition in 2018 and started working together later that year.
They experienced victory almost immediately as Smith won a junior world title in 2019.
Schroder does not cry often but admits the emotion of seeing Smith singing the national anthem at the top of the podium was overwhelming.
“I cried, I actually cried.”
Said Smith: “There’s something special about achieving goals together. It’s not just about reaching the destination, but sharing every challenge, every win, and growing stronger as a team.”
Smith had been training hard, but the World Powerlifting Championships in 2022 were a turning point for her.
“My goal was to get on the podium. I pulled into second place, but the referee said my lift wasn’t good enough and I moved back to fifth,” she said.
“That’s when I switched to a different level. I became really obsessive and every time I struggle to find motivation or discipline, I will think of 2022 and not wanting to go back there.”
Her love for the sport goes deeper than just lifting heavy weights.
“It all comes back to my eating disorder – I was trying to make myself shrink and be tiny.
“Then I discovered powerlifting which was the complete opposite. You can grow bigger and not have to shrink yourself to be the most powerful woman you can be.”
Schroder said in six years of training together, Smith hasn’t taken more than four days off in a row.
“Elite athletes understand that when they reach their peak, it only lasts for so long.
“Megan is at her peak right now and we know it’s now or never, so you have to put 100 per cent in.”
Smith lifts weights for about 20 hours a week, but it is the work outside the gym that makes the difference.
“Ninety-nine per cent of our athletes turn up and do their sessions, but it’s the external side that makes the difference for how successful you become,” Schroder said.
Smith is a two-time Commonwealth champion, five-time national champion and a nine-time world championship medallist and is ranked the 18th best powerlifter in the history of the sport by the International Powerlifting Federation.
“Heading into competition I feel the expected nerves, but I see them as a privilege. As James would say, ‘pressure is earned’, and it reminds me that I’ve worked hard to be here,” Smith said.
“In 2022, I came fifth. I put in a lot more work for 365 days until the next world championships and (I was) standing on that podium, yes, in third not first, but for me that was like: ‘I’ve done it’,” she said.
Schroder has coached athletes to more than 100 national and international medals but doesn’t receive the same personal accolades.
So being named Sport Canterbury’s high performance coach of the year in 2023 and again this year is a major source of pride.
“I was so nervous when I was speaking because I just couldn’t believe it had happened.”
This was a watershed for the sport, as it was the first time powerlifting had been recognised with a Sport Canterbury award.
Powerlifting is still an amateur sport with minimal funding, meaning the athletes pay most of their expenses.
“If we got some funding or backing from somewhere it would completely change our sport,” Schroder said.
The couple now have a massive year ahead with Smith targeting three international events, including the World Games – a quadrennial multi-sport competition for non-Olympic sports – where she’s aiming for a podium finish.
Depending on funds, Schroder will be coaching at six international competitions in 2025.
Their first tournament is not for several months but, as expected, their hard work has already started.
