Damon's weight expectations

Damon Kelly is the world's strongest QS. Inside the office this 22-year-old Australian is a mild-mannered fellow, working for the Brisbane arm of consultancy WT Partnership while pursuing his quantity surveying degree at Queensland University of Technology.

But outside he is a man mountain, who spends his spare time winning medals as an international weightlifter. His latest honour came this March at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne: he picked up silver in the 105kg plus super-heavyweight category after lifting 385kg over two lifts. In the process he broke a competition record in one lift - the clean and jerk - with a personal best of 217kg, and also produced a 168kg personal best in the snatch.

"It was fantastic," says Kelly. "It was great to win Commonwealth silver in front of my whole family and home crowd, something I'll never experience again. Having 3,500 people all cheering for you every lift is something I'll never forget."

Kelly was pipped to the gold by Australian teammate Chris Rae, who lifted 388kg, but he is hoping to go one better at the next Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010. And what about the Olympics? Will we see him at the peak of his game at London 2012?

"I'd also like to go to an Olympics one day. But I'll have to step up training for that," he says.

Having 3,500 people all cheering for you every lift is something I’ll never forget

Damon Kelly, QS, WT Partnership

To mere mortals Kelly's training regime is unthinkably tough as it is: he trains five days a week for around two and a half hours each day. While he enjoys weightlifting for the friends he's made and the competitions he's been to, there are some aspects of the sport that Kelly doesn't like.

"The worst thing is the stigma of drugs associated with the sport: it smears the names of us clean athletes," he says.

He also eats five or six meals a day, a fact WT vouched for in a good luck statement before the Games by saying: "[Damon spends his time] consuming considerable quantities of steak, breaking office chairs and avoiding caffeine".

However, Kelly said he's grateful for the support the company has given him.

I’ve found a good balance between being a QS and weightlifting

Damon Kelly, QS, WT Partnership

"WT helps me a lot, giving me time off to attend various competitions and training camps," he says. "I've found a good balance between being a QS and weightlifting. I just have to not let either of them control my life."

Kelly won his first medal in 1999 when he was 16, and decided on a career as a QS years later, after finishing school: "I looked around all the different degrees, and quantity surveying sounded interesting."

And he enjoys the job. Well, most of the time: "I enjoy working on the different projects in the office, from regional shopping centres to high-rise apartment buildings. The worst part would be variations: I don't really enjoy going through the hundreds of variations that some jobs have."

So finally, are there any weightlifting skills you find useful as a QS?

"Probably the strength: it comes in handy when we need furniture moving around the office. To date I haven't found any QS skills that are useful for weightlifting, but I'm sure there are some."