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National | Crossfit

14-yr-old Amorangi Rayner is going for gold.

A Whanganui family are doing their best to get their own to the top of their chosen sport. The Rayner family own and operate CrossFit Whanganui and have inspired many, but none more than their own daughter Amorangi Rayner.

14-year-old Amorangi Rayner knows what it takes to get to the top.

Amorangi's father, Matt Rayner, says, "Amorangi is an abnormal athlete, where she has the internal drive to do it.  There's no external motivation needed. like I don't need to remind her to get up and do her diet or stick to her training, or anything like that. It's just written and she sticks to it naturally."

"To see your daughter with the silver fern on her chest was even, I'm getting goose bumps now just thinking about it."

The youngster from Whanganui won big at this year's Oceania comps, breaking three national weightlifting records.

"In the 53kg category in the under 15s, I broke the record for the snatch, the clean and jerk and the total, and I did that in Oceania."

Being active is in her blood, her parents Matt and Karli Rayner run Crossfit Whanganui.

Mother Karli Kaea-Norman says, "Kids are brought up by the tribe, not just by mum and dad. We've got so much support, nanna is at home and she helps with everything and yeah all the different communities help."

Rayner says, "It started with gymnastics with my coach Kelly and so that gave me like the physical ability to do CrossFit when my parents started and I really loved that. And that was fun to do something, with my parents and stuff, and then eventually [it] turned into weightlifting."

Amorangi is looking ahead to the future, to build on her weightlifting success.

"So, obviously more Oceania's, breaking more records in different categories and then eventually Commonwealth gold."

Amorangi will compete at both the national secondary nationals and open nationals in weightlifting come September this year.