DEBORAH ACASON
Deborah Acason (nee Lovely) has excelled in weightlifting, throwing a discuss, a hammer, rugby and track cycling.
Deb was a promising junior in track and field, where she won bronze medal in discus at the inaugural World Youth Championships at just 15. In an effort to build her strength for throwing she started weightlifting, and broke a number of Australian youth and junior records before committing to her new-found sporting love.
Fourteen years later, Deborah is the most experienced and successful AWF female lifter, the first female to represent Australia at two Olympic Games and win medals at three Commonwealth Games.
Her first Olympic effort was the 2004 Athens Games where Deb placed 13th before claiming a memorable Gold medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
In 2008 Deb joined the worldʼs best in Beijing, where she set new national records earning her 8th place at her second Olympic Games. During the event Deb blew out her shoulder attempting a Jerk and on returning to Australia underwent a shoulder reconstruction followed by a lengthy period of recovery and rehabilitation.
Never one to give up in the face of adversity, Deb set her sights on the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games. Timed to perfection, her performance at the Final Trials in Brisbane was impeccable, earning her a place in the Australian Commonwealth Games Association Team. Later in Delhi, Deb took out the Bronze medal giving her the full set of Commonwealth Games medals.
In 2013 the Deb and her family Miles, Western Queensland. Engaging with the new community they have set up a new Weightlifting Club. Debʼs personal motto is “Do your best in everything you do and achieve what you can”.