The Otago weightlifter, who lives in Christchurch but is associated with Otago Weightlifting through her coach, Callan Helms, has her eyes set on lifting the bar on the international stage again.
After getting a taste at the Commonwealth Games last year, the South Island championships in Dunedin this weekend provide another chance for her to qualify for the world championships in Saudi Arabia in September.
"I qualified for the last two years, but haven’t been.
"Actually, South Islands this year is going to be my last chance to qualify for that, so no pressure," McIntyre joked.
She became involved in the sport through CrossFit, then started her search for a coach.
After the South Island championships one year, when Otago did "really, really well", McIntyre asked Helms if he would be interested in coaching her remotely.
The pair have been working together since about 2017, as she honed her craft in the women’s 64kg grade, leading to her selection for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Her experience was dampened slightly by a bout of Covid, only being cleared just before competing, which made for a stressful situation.
"But actually competing was amazing and the sort of couple of days I was in the village afterwards was really cool as well," she said.
McIntyre, who holds a personal best of 89kg in the snatch and 105kg in the clean and jerk, looks forward to competing at the South Island competition again this weekend, and to take her form into the world championships — or, if she does not qualify, the Pacific Games — and the Oceania championships in Auckland in February.
"I love the community of the South Island weightlifting. Everyone’s so supportive and stuff, so it’s really nice to lift in that environment."
It is shaping up to be a big weekend for the South Island championships at Kaikorai Valley College.
About 72 athletes, from Invercargill to Nelson, will compete in the senior and junior grades.
