22/07/2026
Listen to Sarah's interview with Hani Watson, Australian Paralympic powerlifter, who is competing for Australia in Glasgow at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
As a young child, Hani watched her dad in his home gym, along with the other Arnold Schwarzenegger lookalikes with their string singlets and bulging muscles.
Her dad taught her to love and visit the gym often, and it became a fixture of Hani’s young life. At the same time, she was having operation after painful operation, to try to straighten her bowed legs.
After each surgery, the metal pins and screws would wreak havoc in Hani’s legs, and they resumed growing in the same way they always had.
In high school, ruptures at home meant Hani had to move out and support herself, and she lost touch with her mum.
During this distressing time, a kindly school principal gave Hani the keys to the school gym, and that place became an anchor once more.
After another unsuccessful surgery in her 30s, Hani was enjoying the freedom of a wheelchair, compared to the agonising and exhausting effort of walking.
She turned to powerlifting to recover, which led her to worldwide competitions, eventually earning a bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.
Hani also competed at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
*Warning: this interview contains some traumatic themes.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/hani-watson-paralympic-powerlifter-commonwealth-games/106928682
📸: Hani Watson. Credit: Paralympics Australia
17/07/2026
The Australian Para Powerlifting Team has been warmly welcomed to Kerry Sports Academy at Munster Technological University in Ireland for their pre-Commonwealth Games training camp.
With access to world-class, competition-standard equipment and outstanding accessible facilities, the team is putting the finishing touches on their preparations before heading to Glasgow.
A huge thank you to Kerry Sports Academy, Roy Guerin, and the local Tralee community for their incredible support and hospitality. Your generosity has created the perfect environment for our athletes to train and perform at their best. 💛💚
Roy Guerin
ie
17/07/2026
Australian Para Powerlifting Team Trains At Kerry Sports Academy - Tralee Today
THE Australian Para Powerlifting Team were welcomed to the Kerry Sports Academy at the Munster Technological University for an intensive training camp as they continue their preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The team received a warm Kerry welcome from Mayor of Tralee, Angi...
23/07/2026
17/07/2026