Auditor falls in love with weightlifting
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday February 18, 2023 06:00
As early as three years-old, Imsirovic was already lifting weights for fun. By then, it was just another game by a little girl. “I started going to exercise in the gym room when I relocated to Gaborone in 2015.
Back home, I did not have access to the gym. My mission of going to the gym was to keep fit, so in 2019 I started having interest in strength building. So I took part in amateur powerlifting competition,” the 25-year-old said.
Imsirovic is the only woman in weightlifting in Botswana. She is her own competitor, which makes her to work extra hard as she has to keep up with her male counterparts. “When you look at it, being my own competition is a great motivation on its own. I wish there were other women in weightlifting. They were going to give me that much needed push.
I work with my other teammates, the guys give me the competition and they do not look at me as a woman. That is exactly what keeps me on a higher level,” she said. Imsirovic admitted that getting women in weightlifting remains a challenge for Botswana Weightlifting Federation (BWF). She said some of the ways of trying to attract women is through the use of social media. “I assist in running the weightlifting social media pages. The idea is to get the nation to familiarise themselves with the sport.
Weightlifting is a niche sport. It can be hard for women to know that they want to or they can lift since they do not know anything about the sport. I even go an extra mile by posting on my social media pages for women to appreciate what I do and see me going through my daily routine,” Imsirovic said. She said it is all about getting inspiration from a local girl like them because some might think this sport belongs to people abroad. She added that the strength of muscles is not gendered. “Weightlifting is therapeutic.
I have a hectic job working for a finance company as an auditor. Going to the gym helps to clear my head,” she said. Imsirovic said as a new kid in the block, she prides herself in her personal bests (PB) lifts, because she has taught herself everything from scratch including her own research online. “I went from barely lifting a bar to moving it with a weight. Along this achievement is obviously being able to lift enough and represent Botswana at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships,” she said.
Imsirovic competed in the 71kg category, with 4/6 lifts and ending with a total of 138kg at the IWF championships held in Bogota, Colombia last year. The event was the first weightlifting qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Imsirovic said her intention is to compete at the upcoming Africa Olympic qualifiers slated for Tunisia and Ghana. She said the qualifiers will improve her continental rankings. Her plan is also to compete at smaller weightlifting competitions in South Africa to gain experience because at the moment she has been to one competition. Imsirovic stays in Kumakwane and commuting to the gym which is located in Gaborone is taxing for the athlete.
“If I could get my own equipment at home, I think I can progress further because I will be able to train as much as I want. I also have financial challenges because I feel weightlifting is not given enough support to grow,” she said. Imsirovic said her strength is snatch because it has difficult techniques, adding that one has to focus during training. “Weightlifting is an elite sport, many people can be strong in the gym but give them a bar to lift in movements correctly and they will struggle.
The sport takes dedication and commitment to master the lifts, which people should respect when they think about weightlifting,” she said. Imsirovic said her family is now supportive of her choice after initially expressing concern that she will hurt herself because she had no background in weightlifting. Growing up, Imsirovic was also a swimmer and triathlete. Normally athletes are scouted by coaches but for Imsirovic it was the other way round as she found coach, Alex Rankgwa. “Emma is a hard worker, focused trainer. She met one of my athletes at one of the gyms in town and inquired about weightlifting. She sent me a message and I did not respond because I had been disappointed by other people before,” he said. Rankgwa said one day he was training at the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) gym room, he saw this woman with movements that he liked and he approached her. “I asked her if she was the one who contacted me, she said yes. I started working with her immediately. Her attitude towards the sport drove me to up my game. She is always available and follows training programme,” Rankgwa said.
He said they want to remain focused on qualifying for Olympics especially Los Angeles 2028, where they are targeting a medal.
FACT FILE
Full names: Emma Imsirovic
Date of birth: August 12, 1997
Place of birth: Mahalapye
Sport: Weightlifting
Strength: Snatch
Achievement: Making a debut at the 2023 IWF championships