St Patricks Day Q&A with athlete Daniel O Hare

The 17 March is St Patrick's day, and to celebrate, we asked Northern Irish weightlifter Daniel O Hare to share his thoughts and advice on weightlifting. Daniel is currently ranked 6th in the UK in the Men’s 109kg category, after snatching 142kg, and clean and jerking 170kg to total 312kg at the 2022 British Championships.

Continue reading to find out what he had to say.

How did you get into weightlifting?

A rugby coach brought the team to the gym I currently train at around 9-10 years ago, after a year or so of doing both I gave up rugby and focused just on weightlifting.

Congratulations on some amazing lifting at the British Championships 2022! You described your competition prep as being ‘interesting’- what does this mean and how are you feeling after your performance?

Like I imagine a lot of other lifters did, I got covid a month out, it was quite hard to train after that. I’m disappointed in my performance but the group was very competitive and it’s always an honour to compete against such good lifters.

How do you stay focussed in a competition environment?

It’s never been something I've thought about, I've always been a competition lifter and can manage to stay focused. My coach is amazing and takes care of everything and I’m just pointed at the bar and told when to lift leaving me to concentrate.

Do you have a pre -competition ritual?

Chocolate brioche! I forget when this started but for the last few years I've always had chocolate brioche or pain au chocolat after a weigh in.

What keeps you motivated to train?

Competitions, without competitions I don’t think i’d train. That feeling from a competition and the commitment to become a better lifter is what keeps me showing up.

What are your current goals?

My current goal is to get my strength back to pre covid levels and from there keep refining my technique as I wait to see what my next competition will be.

Who is your biggest weightlifting inspiration?

I’m not sure I'd class anyone as my inspiration, the closest thing I'd have would be the lifters I compete against.

Finally, what would your advice be to beginners wanting to get involved in the sport?

Doesn’t matter what you lift, all that matters is how big your biceps look lifting it!