SIGNAL Megan Ann

General
COMMONWEALTH DISAPPOINTMENT
In December 2017 she was provisionally selected for the New Zealand weightlifting team ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, QLD, Australia. However, after coming back from anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] reconstruction in 2017, she needed medical clearance before her selection was formalised. In early 2018 she was unable to meet the selection criteria, and missed out on a place on the team. "It was an honour to be provisionally selected as I thought my recovery was going well. I felt like I may never get that opportunity again, but hope was restored in December 2017 with a selection for the team on conditions I showed I was ready to take the platform again. I was not, but it was a small blessing. My body was not ready, but Weightlifting New Zealand [WNZ] fought for me anyway." (Facebook profile, 23 Sep 2018; olympicweightlifting.nz, 2018; olympic.org.nz, 2018; insidethegames.biz, 15 Dec 2017)

WEIGHT CLASS SWITCH
She moved up to the 76kg weight class from the 64kg class after struggling with the side effects of restricting her diet to make the lower category. "Weight cuts are not fun and they're not easy, especially as you get older. I was mentally starting to resent the cuts because I was always hungry. My body was telling me to eat but you're really restricted in what you can eat. It's a cycle - when you're cutting, you're energy deficient, which means you can't train as well. Because your hormones are low, that can create all sorts of issues with moods. All of these things limit your ability to perform at your best, so you're drained physically and mentally all the time. Even though I don't personally think I sit in the RED-S [Relative energy deficiency in sport syndrome] category, there were definitely red flags saying I could be heading in that direction if I kept doing what I was doing. I'm just so much better after the switch, mentally and physically." (stuff.co.nz, 05 Feb 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She runs and serves as a coach at CrossFit gym Functional Fit in Auckland, New Zealand, alongside her husband Callum Gifford and business partner Zak Nothling. The trio also founded Renegade Performance, an online athlete training programme service. "It took me a while to find a sport. I was a smoker who led a less than healthy lifestyle. CrossFit was the first form of exercise that got me hooked and really brought out my competitive side. From there the transition to Olympic lifting was easy. I've been on this journey ever since and because I came from a pretty ordinary background, I feel compelled to share what I've achieved with as many people as possible, in the hope to inspire others to try something new and to show them they can achieve anything." She has also been a member of the International Weightlifting Federation Athletes' Commission. (killcliff.co.nz, 01 Jan 2020; stuff.co.nz, 20 Mar 2019; iwf.net, 01 Sep 2020; insdiethegames.biz, 01 Sep 2020; fxd.co.nz, 29 Jul 2020)