Power-house Hussain: Medical student wins Sports Blue Award
22 October 2019
Not only is Shehnaz Hussain powering through her MBChB, she has also broken three New Zealand powerlifting records and been awarded a University of Auckland Blues Award for achieving sporting excellence.
In a traditionally male-dominated sport, Shehnaz is succeeding in leaps and bounds—or in her case, squats and deadlifts. She recently represented New Zealand at the Powerlifting Asia/Oceania Championships in Sydney, 2019 where she placed fourth and broke three New Zealand records in the U58kg Junior category: Squat at 115kgs, Deadlift at 140kg, and New Zealand total weights lifted at 315kg.
What was it that led Shenaz to take up weightlifting?
“I did a little bit of track and cross country in high school. On the side we would also do some weight training, which I fell in love with more than the actual running, so I pursued that sport instead.
"I am studying medicine and I am currently in the fourth year. It is a challenging six year degree but incredibly rewarding. I have developed people skills along with knowledge. It is also such a privilege that we are allowed to be in people's most critical times of their lives and help them and their families,” says Shehnaz.
She credits her ability to study effectively partly to her powerlifting training, which she says teaches her discipline and also forces her to balance her time.
Training keeps me accountable for my sleep, stress levels, and nutrition. Without the pressure of having to train, I probably wouldn't be as efficient as I am now.
Shehnaz also competed at the New Zealand Powerlifting National Championships in August and is training for the Powerlifting World Championships in 2020, held in Las Vegas.