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Regional

Shayna Wirihana defends her NZ strongwomen title

Shayna Wirihana has only been competing in the strongwomen sport for two years but within that time has been in commanding form.  Today, she defended her title as New Zealand's strongest woman and remains the second strongest woman in the Southern Hemisphere.

Shayna only had six weeks to train for her title defence. Usually, she has twelve weeks' training but has been competing in Australia recently. In the lead-up to today's competition, she says she was starting to feel the pressure and the expectations upon her to retain her title.

"Having the title just adds on that little bit more pressure but I really want to get a podium for next year that's my main goal," she says.

It was her twin brother, Eru Wirihana, who encouraged her into the sport. He's her backbone of support through all the events in which she competes. "Having him beside me and again being twins as well, he really motivates me, he gets behind me."

At the start of the day, Shayna says she knew she had to lift the bar past what she thought she could do in order to hold onto her title. "I really want to try and hit personal best in all of the events. So far, I've kept a record in all of my training so I know it pushes me harder being in a competitive competition."

It's been a challenging and exhausting day for Shayna but she still remains the New Zealand Strongwomen Champion. She will now look at competing in the Arnold Classic competitions which will be held in Australia and in Ohio in the United States.