Precious Mckenzie MBE  - Professional Weight lifter

Precious McKenzie is a professional weightlifting champion with an amazing past full of overcoming the odds and dealing with adversity. Precious dealt with racism in South Africa and had to start a new life in the UK to pursue a career in weightlifting. After lots of success with the UK he moved to NZ to pursue his career more and in doing so earned plenty more medals and trophies and extended his impressive collection of achievements.

Precious was born in Durban, South Africa in 1936. As a boy Precious was weak suffering from numerous diseases and illnesses. Precious's mother had to put Precious and his younger sister Gloria into foster care, as she shouldn't cope with the loss of her husband. It was during this time Precious discovered his passion for weight lifting and wanted to utilize this skill further by becoming a circus acrobat.

It was not too long before Precious was noticed and was soon seen to be the best weightlifter in his weight class in South Africa. Due to racism Precious had to move to the UK, as he was not allowed to compete in any big events in South Africa. In order to gain UK citizenship Precious had to work in a shoe factory for five years before he could compete. The Commonwealth games in Jamaica were closing in and Precious desperately wanted to compete, in order to do so he still needed his UK citizenship. Thankfully, the then Minister of Sport Denis Howell managed to speed up the citizenship process, enabling Precious to compete in the games and ultimately win a gold medal for the UK. After Precious had won this gold medal it lead to a lot more success and global recognition in the world of weight lifting. 

When Precious won another gold medal in 1974 for the Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch. Precious and his family decided to settle in Auckland where they could have an easier life and Precious could work as a weight trainer in a gym. Precious competed in his fourth Commonwealth games held in Edmonton in 1978. This time Precious won gold representing New Zealand in the Bantamweight division at the age of 42. Quite an achievement!

Precious McKenzie has had a fascinating life. He didn’t have the best start in life, but he made good use of what he had and was determined to make a name for himself in the competitive world of weightlifting. After much hard work, determination and courage Precious pulled through. He now has his name in numerous halls of fame and has an impressive trophy cabinet. A great quote from Precious that sums up his determination is, “In many SA sports, you still hear people complaining about colour, but they are dreamers. All you can do is prove yourself and not make any excuses. Finally, everything will come right.” Precious didn’t make any excuses and now is a very well known and respected sportsman. Precious is hugely inspirational and someone we should all take advice from.