Life of Precious McKenzie

Ever heard about the famous, Precious Mckenzie? The weightlifter who is widely known in New Zealand, England, South Africa, basically, known around the world, has been an inspiration to many.. This amazing man was originally from South Africa though he eventually immigrated to New Zealand, where he got more fame.

Born on 1936, Precious had a difficult early life. At the age of 3 he was hospitalized because he developed a rare chest condition which could have affected him badly but fortunately he survived this major problem. This is why he was named ‘Precious One’.

McKenzie wanted to work in a circus as a gymnast. The people who he asked if he could work there said something terrible actually. This is, that he had the wrong skin colour. This attitude is absolutely dimwitted, according to me because everyone should get treated equally not because their skin tone is different.

Though McKenzie couldn’t become a circus man he then thought of becoming a weightlifter. Showing great talent he gained the Natal Bantamweight Title but didn’t make it into the Empire or Olympic Games because of his skin colour. Later he then immigrated to England hoping to find more opportunities and where they won’t discriminate.

Not so long after in England he married a woman called Elizabeth and had fathered two girls, Vanessa and Sandra. After that he competed in the Olympic games and had records and that’s when he reached international interest and also came to New Zealand.

Precious McKenzie

Cruz and I have written this together about a weightlifter, Precious McKenzie:

The weightlifter's face, hard like a stone looked as if he was about to punch anyone that came in his way, bar to his chest and about to do the final lift.The crowd had gone wild as soon as the weightlifter, Precious McKenzie gripped the bar and with a grunt he pushed all his weight into the air. Now that was success!