Meet Davina Hughes, Toowoomba's own pocket rocket leading the charge in one of the toughest and most demanding sports – weightlifting.

Video Journalist Kris Flanders travels to the quiet town in southern Queensland, where Davina trains rigorously at the local gym.

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While she can lift almost twice her weight over her head, she says it takes as much brain as it does brawn to be a successful weightlifter

"Just trying to lift that extra kilo every day, like it seems so little but it’s so big. Like when you’ve got 90 kilograms above your head and you want to make it up to 95 kilograms it’s such a big jump", she tells Flanders.

While she's not pumping iron at the gym, you'll find Davina getting a mental workout at home, where she's currently studying to be a personal fitness trainer.

Toowoomba's pocket rocket is currently number one in Queensland and Australia in her weight and age division.

Transcript

KG: 19-year-old Davina Hughes is a weightlifter from Toowoomba, in Queensland. This pocket-rocket loves nothing better than being in the gym or in a competition testing herself to see how much she can lift. Video journalist Kris Flanders discovers that having a strong mind is even more important than having muscle mass.

Davina Hughes, Weightlifter: It's a very challenging sport, and I've always been about single sports, just trying to beat myself over and over and that's exactly what weightlifting is. So I think that's what attracted me was just that you're always competing with yourself as well as others.

Reporter: Davina Hughes is a name to watch out for. This pocket-rocket hails from Toowoomba, in southern Queensland, and competes in one of the toughest and most demanding sports - weightlifting. Standing at 151cm and weighing 57kg, Davina's right at home in the gym.

Davina Hughes: Just trying to lift that extra kilo every day, like it seems so little but it's so big as well, like when you've got 90kg above your head and you want to make it up to 95kg it's such a big jump. It might come down to that one kilogram that might win gold, so it's just, it's mind-blowing.

Reporter: Weightlifting coach Greg Hobl knew he had a natural on his hands.

Greg Hobl, Coach Toowoomba Weightlifting Association: It was obvious from the very beginning that Davina had what it takes to be a good weightlifter, she was a strong girl for her size and very flexible, very fast and yeah, she had what you needed.

Reporter: Weightlifting is an explosive sport. Having physical attributes is a plus but an even stronger mind is required.

Greg Hobl: Some people say that it's 90% in the mind and 10% in the body. Yeah, it's a lot in the mind - you can't have a weak mind in this sport if you're going to be successful. It's a hard sport, you know, and you have to believe in your ability and I think if you have any doubts in that area then the chances are that you're not going to be able to succeed with the weights.

Davina Hughes: Mentally, I sit there and I think over and over of what I have to do, like I have to keep straight, just everything. When you go out to the platform, your mind and your body has to be completely ready.

Reporter: Away from her sport, Davina tries to do as little as possible to conserve her energy.

Davina Hughes: Obviously, I like playing with the animals that we have and just watching movies, just sleeping and relaxing. My training is very, very hard, like all I'm doing is lifting weights and it really like... If I have a hard day like training is just so much harder. My parents are a huge support, especially my Mum. She always, like when I feel down she always kicks me in the butt and tells me to go to training and stuff.

Lee-Anne Hughes Davina's Mother: Davina's always been strong ever since she was a baby, and yeah, she's strong-willed. And just if you tell her she can't do something she'll prove to you she can.

Davina Hughes: I'd like to take on personal training as my career, just easier with my weightlifting, and like with personal training I can take on clients and do them whenever like I can.

Reporter: Davina is currently number one in Queensland and Australia in her weight and age division of 58kg and under 20 years of age. With that in mind she's concentrating on continuing that form in 2008.

Davina Hughes: I'm hoping for World Juniors, which is in Columbia, like I've been trying to get to Worlds for three years now so and I just... I'm just so close this year and I just hope nothing holds me back this year.

Reporter: A big future in weightlifting is Davina's for the taking. For the snatch her best lift is 67kg and for the clean and jerk it's a phenomenal 90kg.

Greg Hobl: I think she can improve a lot - obviously things like World Junior Championships and maybe Commonwealth Games in the future, and you'd love to think Olympics and World Championships. Obviously if she keeps training hard then that's a possibility.

Reporter: Davina loves wearing the green and gold - it's an honour that she's striving to continue.

Davina Hughes: When you're representing your country, you're just so proud to be Australian. And when you actually get a medallion and you're standing up there and you're singing the Australian anthem, like I don't think words could explain it.