Richard John Edward Patterson (born 30 April 1983) is a

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; pro ...

competitor for New Zealand. At the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

he won the silver medal in the men's 85 kg weightlifting event. Four years later, at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, he won the gold medal in the same event. He was New Zealand's flagbearer in the

2014 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony The closing ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, was held on 3 August 2014. Entitled "All Back to Ours", it was held at the Hampden Park, the main stadium of the event, in Glasgow, Scotland. Sequence of events The closing ceremony took a ...

. To qualify for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

Patterson had to rely on fellow New Zealand teammate Tavita Ngalu to lift 150 kg at the Oceania Championships. In a selfless act Ngalu did so while injured with ripped

quadriceps The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

and New Zealand's highest ranked weightlifter (Patterson) qualified for the Games. Patterson married fellow weightlifter Phillipa Hale in Glasgow on 31 July 2014, after both had competed in the Commonwealth Games (Hale competed in the women's 53 kg event).

Major results

References

External links

* Living people 1983 births New Zealand male weightlifters Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Weightlifters at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Olympic weightlifters for New Zealand Weightlifters at the 2008 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2012 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Weightlifters at the 2016 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in weightlifting 20th-century New Zealand people 21st-century New Zealand people Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games {{NewZealand-weightlifting-bio-stub