Occupational therapy student Maritoni Neri is already racking up the medals and records

Powerlifters and weightlifters never fail to be impressive. The body is pretty capable of many different feats, but you’ll always think a person moving more than their body weight is awesome. There’s really no need to explain amazing acts of strength—either you make the lift or you don’t.

Which is why it’s a little baffling that lifting sports aren’t more popular in the Philippines. Sure, Hidilyn Diaz gets hype whenever she wins big, especially when she won gold in the Tokyo Olympics, but these really aren’t in the national consciousness even after we’ve proven that this is a doable, winnable sport.

Perhaps one of the ways to fix this problem is to continuously introduce young phenoms, fresh faces we can all root for.

Here’s one: national powerlifting team member and college student Maritoni Neri. A 21-year-old occupational therapy student at the University of the Philippines Manila and a student of competitive lifter and coach Regie Ramirez, Neri is so fresh that she’s only been competing on big stages for a little over a year but she’s already racked up medals and set her own records in her division.

“I got into powerlifting because my sister and handler, Mikee Neri, is a former member of the national team. She kept on telling me to give the sport a try,” Maritoni Neri shares. “She even told me it would be nice if we could compete internationally together”

These achievements and performances are even more impressive when you factor in how Neri didn’t even like lifting weights and powerlifting itself all that much.

“I got into powerlifting because my sister and handler, Mikee Neri, is a former member of the national team. She kept on telling me to give the sport a try,” Neri shares. “She even told me it would be nice if we could compete internationally together. When I first tried it, I thought it was boring. Come 2022, I volunteered at Raw Nats (the National Classic Powerlifting Championships) and enjoyed watching the competition. That’s when I decided that I wanted to see myself on the platform as well. I joined my first meet in May last year.

“Actually, I was introduced to the sport in 2019, iba pa yung coach ko. Ginagawa ko yung pagbubuhat for physical activity. I just really didn’t like it kaya hindi ko siya sineryoso,” she continues.

“Kahit anong aya sa akin ng coach ko na lumaban, ayaw ko talaga. On and off ako sa training tapos nag-pandemic pa, so it really took time for the sport to grow on me. Nung 2022, I made the decision to get serious about it and join Raw Nats 2023 because I was slowly getting to appreciate the sport, and I felt like it was time. Parang kailangan ko nang tumigil sa paglalaro and try to achieve something, especially since my sister always tells me it would be nice kung masusulit ko yung junior years ko.”

 

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A post shared by Regie Ramirez | Powerlifting Coach (@rigidregimen)

That’s on top of silver medals and national records for equipped squat, bench, deadlift, and total. The impressive outing has qualified her to compete at this year’s World Junior Equipped Powerlifting Championships in Malta this coming August.

The mark of a naturally talented competitor is when they’re able to pull off a big game without really overthinking it, which is what happened with Neri in Hong Kong.

“I was super nervous because it was my first international meet, and I’m going against world champions who’ve been competing for years,” she says. “Nanginginig talaga ako. But my coach and my teammates kept on telling me to only lift as I do in training, so a lot of my confidence really came from their support. After my squat opener, I felt more relaxed and knew that I’ll be able to perform well.”

And for Neri’s upcoming performance at Worlds, her focus is a lot more streamlined as they have a clear game plan.

“My coach and my PT are working really hard to optimize my lifting performance and get me closer to hitting the 500kg mark,” she shares. “As for individual lifts, I’m aiming to squat 200kg. Malapit na. All I have to do is deliver. I’m really hoping that I get a spot on the podium for the total medal. Looking at the nominations, it’s possible.”

“You are in control of what you can achieve,” she says. “I believe that whether you stay or drift away from your desired path depends a lot on the decisions and actions that you do”

With the goal of becoming a world champion, getting to this point after only a little over a year is huge. Fortunately, Neri is very confident and laser-focused on getting it done, and it’s entirely possible that by next month, she’ll have checked this box off her list. It’s now up to us to pay attention.

“You are in control of what you can achieve,” she says. “I believe that whether you stay or drift away from your desired path depends a lot on the decisions and actions that you do.”