E42 | David Liti
Episode summary | David Liti
David Liti is a big man with a huge personality. He stands 6 foot tall and weighs 181kgs and, incredibly, can do the splits.
In this episode we talk about how prior to his gold medal winning performance a doctor told him not to compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and why he ignored the advice. David also opens up about the pain and struggle of balancing his weightlifting dreams with his family expectations. The realities of training for the Olympics, drugs in weightlifting and how he would expect to win gold at Tokyo if the sport was clean.
This pod was a real treat, and some of the passages of David’s setbacks and triumphs midway through make for incredibly captivating listening.
Show notes | David Liti
2.03 Street parties and street workouts in Te Kauwhata
5.02 Seamus gets his recollection of David’s 2019 Pacific Games performance all wrong
9.03 Steve gets social: talking Instagram and TikTok
14.21 How a man who stands 6 foot tall and weighs 180kgs can do the splits
19.27 Looking ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the pain and realities of weightlifting training
31.03 Missing your first lift and behind the scenes of a weightlifting competition
35.42 Mental strength and the decision to focus on weightlifting
40.00 “Sleep for dinner”: balancing weightlifting dreams with family expectations and their eventual support
49.03 The untold story of the Commonwealth Games: David has six weeks to prepare after doctors advised him not to attend due to injury
1.00.09 Life after the gold medal
1.11.55 Funding the weightlifting dreams
1.16.15 Expectations for the Olympics, drugs in weightlifting, and plans beyond Tokyo 2020
1.23.42 “I hated weightlifting with a passion”: David’s early years of weightlifting and high school rugby
1.32.08 Putting 11kgs on in seven days after a competition and the mechanics of weightlifting at 180kg
1.37.00 Travelling around the world and a detour in Papua New Guinea
1.42.22 “Make people smile and be happy”: Last words from Steven, Seamus, and David
