Volunteer helps teenage weightlifter find new trainers
GLASGOW, July 22 (Reuters) - Like most teenagers, Papua New Guinea's Fred Oala wants a new pair of trainers. But unlike most of his friends and contemporaries, the 17-year-old Commonwealth Games weightlifter's need is real, urgent and necessary - and has nothing to do with any fashion trends. Oala's old trainers, a pair of hand-me-downs held together by yellow tape, finally fell apart just days before his event, the men's 56-kilo competition, begins on Thursday. "My shoes were owned by two people before me and they burst at the side when I was lunging," said Oala. "But they are the pair I used for training in my village. I was used to them.” Luckily for Oala, help was at hand in his Motherwell training facility where Games volunteer Graeme Parrack, a keen amateur lifter himself, arranged to 'borrow' a substitute pair from his own training partner. The unsuspecting man, away from Scotland on holiday, has the same size feet as Oala. "I've texted him in Mexico to see if he minds, but I've not had a reply yet..." said Parrack. "I think he would be happy to help so I'll just grab them. "If they are worn during competition, he might end up being partly responsible for a medal!" Oala may enjoy another surprise if Parrack's plans are realised - the Scot having ordered a new pair of weightlifting shoes from a specialist supplier in London. At 100 pounds a pair, he hopes the cash-strapped Papua New Guinea federation can authorise the cost - and the trainers arrive in time to boost Oala's bid to become his country's first-ever male Commonwealth Games weightlifting medallist. ($1 = 0.5864 British Pounds) (Reporting by Sam Holden, editing by Tim Collings)
