A Change of Guard

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Friday 1 October 2010

Cambodian refugee competes for Australia in India

Oct 1, 2010
NECN

NEW DELHI (AP) — The son of a refugee Cambodian family which lived through the ravages of the Pol Pot regime will compete in weightlifting for Australia at the Commonwealth Games.

Vannara Be, who came to Australia in 1998 as a 10-year-old child, will compete in the 62-kilogram division when the weightlifting competition begins Monday.

The 22-year-old Be, who considers himself a longshot for a medal, became an Australian citizen last November when the government fast-tracked his citizenship so he could compete in New Delhi.

"It's a dream come true," Be said Friday at the athletes' village. "You never expected to be in a country like Australia, and now to represent them is quite amazing."

Be's father, who was mentally scarred by Pol Pot's terror reign in the late 1970s when two of his brothers were killed and his mother lost an eye in the violence, went to Australia in 1996 to work in a vineyard in the Yarra Valley of Victoria state.

The rest of the family followed the father two years later from their home outside Phnom Penh. The pint-sized Be has an older sister and two younger sisters, Socheata, 20, and Richny, 16, both budding weightlifters.

Be first took up weightlifting at Mount Lilydale Mercy College in Melbourne's northern suburbs "to get out of school," he said.

He credited some of his early strength to working with his mother in her Cambodian shop and later with his father on the land.

"During picking season you carry weights around, like grapes in a bucket," he said.

Be's coach, Anthony Dove, said the young lifter had an incredible work ethic.

"He trains about 10 times a week, twice a day," Dove said. "It's amazing how quickly he has picked up the sport. He's very astute and asks a lot of questions. He always wants to put more weight on the bar. Nothing will hold him back."

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