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This month, we feature Antonette Labausa—an accomplished, multi-medal weightlifter who has earned podium finishes in both local and regional competitions.
Her achievements include multiple medals at the 2018 Micro Games, 2022 Pacific Mini Games, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Guam Championships, the 2023 Marianas Cup, the 2024 Oceania Championships, and the 2024 Micro Games.
She also shares her expertise as the gym’s Barbell Club instructor.
When she returned to Saipan in 2018, she was looking for a place to continue her Olympic weightlifting training. In her sport, she said she focuses on squats, variations of the snatch, clean and jerk, deadlifts, and pulls. With that, she recalled, “They [Latte Built] had everything that I needed at the time—platform, bars, and a good environment to feel safe to lift in that is conducive to the demands of the sport—slamming the bars, being loud sometimes, and yeah, just having a good environment.”
For her first competition for the CNMI at the 2018 Micro Games in Yap, she said she trained very hard for it at the gym. “I ended up getting three gold [medals], so that was definitely a very memorable moment that Latte Built played a part in,” she said.
After her most recent stint at the 2025 Palau Pacific Mini Games, the 31-year-old decided to retire from competition. With over a decade of weightlifting experience under her belt, she continues to train at the gym for her overall health and fitness.
Speaking about the gym, she said, “It’s a very family-friendly place. I enjoy it and the people that come through—we all kind of have this understanding that this is a safe space to connect, lift weights, and learn from each other. It’s also a good place where the staff are very friendly, enjoyable to be around, and you’re not afraid to ask for help from other people and the staff.”
Despite stepping away from competition, she remains open to coaching athletes and is currently the gym’s Barbell Club instructor. She is also a personal trainer but is focusing primarily on the Barbell Club.
“We basically incorporate the principles of Olympic weightlifting, strength and conditioning, and kind of like a CrossFit style sometimes. It’s a very mixed type of class but definitely more on the strength and conditioning side and weightlifting side. So if you are interested in trying something new or getting out of your comfort zone, that is the class for you,” she said.
Labausa is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology.
By Leigh Gases
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