By night he is cooking up a storm at one of Sydney’s great Italian restaurants in Leichhardt. By day he is lifting weights in the company of a group of blokes all with the same agenda – Beijing 2008.

Juggling crème brulée with dumbbells, Emmanuel Citton is a weightlifter preparing to qualify for the greatest sporting event of all time, the Olympic Games.

“It is an honour to compete at the Olympic Games,” said the 24-year-old. “A medal is even greater and that is what I am aiming for.”

Citton describes himself as a “chubby teenager who found my way into the sport because I wanted to be healthy and get fit.

“The more involved I got, the more I enjoyed weightlifting and of course I developed a strong physique,” something to which teenage boys aspires.

Watching the 2004 Olympic Games, Citton was intrigued and inspired by such a challenge.

“I realised I wanted to compete at the highest level and so approached Luke Borreggine, currently my coach, to assess my potential."

Citton is now training nine times per week. He is concentrating on strength, technique and core body strength, alternating between low repetitions/high weight and high repetitions/low weight.

He competed in the Uesaka Email Competition last month, an international competition facilitated via the internet, where he achieved personal bests of 130kg in the snatch and 170kg in the clean and jerk.

This month Citton will compete in the NSW Open Competition, followed by the National Championships in August. He hopes to travel to Italy in July for the International Tournament of Sicily before competing at the Commonwealth and Oceania Senior Championships in November in Apia, Samoa.

But it is a long road to the Olympic qualification event in March 2008. “I have to physically and mentally prepare myself for the year ahead. I am lucky I have my coach and family to support me.”

In addition, Citton is challenged by working three to four nights a week on a casual basis.

“Sometimes I find it hard to juggle work and training. Hospitality can be physically demanding and on top of my training it can be difficult to get through.”

Nicknamed Gorilla, Citton is experienced in all facets of the kitchen but has a strong forte in pastry and desserts.

 “There is no single dessert that I enjoy more – I like them all – fresh gelato, cakes, tortes, custard desserts and crème brulée.”

“As a weightlifter I have to watch what I eat, however I try to enjoy a bit of everything. I tend to splurge during Christmas and Easter.”

In fact, Citton appears to be person that enjoys most things, in particular his sport.

“Weightlifting is fun, keeps me fit and has allowed me to meet some great people. It gives me self confidence and self esteem. I just enjoy it.”

Frances Cordaro

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