Four feet nine inches in height, ten feet tall in character, Precious McKENZIE is one of the innocent casualties of apartheid. Born in South Africa, Precious is the perfect example of a socially deprived person who should have grown up anti-social and taken to a life of crime as a protest against society - but he didn't.
Son of a crocodile hunter and a mother who was of Scottish ancestry, McKenzie's mixed blood ensured that he would never be able to represent his country in sport due to the scourge of apartheid. A desire to be an acrobat in his youth fired a puny, little boy to undertake a daunting program of physical development. Soon his interest focussed on weightlifting and he gradually became a force to be reckoned with in the competitive arena.
Unable to represent his country, he took his family to England and represented that country, garnering medals in numerous events and in three Commonwealth Games, breaking fifty world records in powerlifting along the way. The 1974 Games were held in Christchurch, New Zealand, giving him an opportunity to see the country where he would finally settle and prosper.
