Odell Manuel is a former New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 player and almost the Australian Powerlifting

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is a strength sport. It resembles the sport of Olympic weightlifting, as both disciplines involve lifting weights in three attempts. Powerlifting evolved from a sport known as 'odd lifts' which followed the same three attempt format but used a wide variety of events akin to Strongman...

 champion.

Early years

Growing up in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, Manuel was a Otahuhu Leopards

Otahuhu Leopards

The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Otahuhu, New Zealand. The club competes in the Fox Memorial competition run by the Auckland Rugby League. They are coached by Peter Caccioppoli. Between 2000 and 2003 they also competed in the Bartercard Cup.The team are the current holders of...

 junior and in 1997 was selected for the Junior Kiwis.

Rugby league career

Manuel played for the Warriors for two seasons, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1999. In 2000 he represented the New Zealand Māori

New Zealand Maori rugby league team

-See also:* New Zealand national rugby league team* New Zealand Māori rugby union team* New Zealand Māori cricket team-External links:* Google Books...

 at the World Cup

2000 Rugby League World Cup

The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was held during October and November of that year in Great Britain, Ireland and France...

. He then spent two years at Canberra

Canberra Raiders

The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...

 which were much less successful. Mid way through his first season he was injured in a collision with Lesley Vainikolo

Lesley Vainikolo

Lesley Vainikolo is a dual code professional rugby football player who currently plays for Gloucester Rugby. He plays on the wing....

 in training and he spent much of his second year in reserve grade

NSWRL Premier League

The New South Wales Cup is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales previously known as the NSWRL Premier League. It has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve grade competition. It is now the premier open age competition in the state...

.

He then returned to New Zealand to play for the Hibiscus Coast Raiders

Hibiscus Coast Raiders

The Hibiscus Coast Raiders are a rugby league club based on the Hibiscus Coast, New Zealand. They compete in Auckland Rugby League's Fox Memorial competition and between 2000 and 2005 were also involved in the Bartercard Cup competition.-History:...

 in the Bartercard Cup

Bartercard Cup

The Bartercard Cup was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zealand Rugby League...

 before a swansong season in Australia with the Central Comets

Central Comets

Central Queensland Capras are an semi-professional rugby league football club based in Rockhampton, Queensland. They currently play in the Queensland Cup, the premier rugby league competition in Queensland....

. However after only six games he was diagnosed with arthritis and forced to retire.

Powerlifting career

In January 2009 Manuel entered his first powerlifting event. In March he won the Queensland title at the Queensland Open in Brisbane, lifting 892.5 kg, and in July 2009 he won the Australian national title by lifting 916 kg to break the Australian record by more than 20 kg and claim the overall title.

However Manuel tested positive to methylhexanamine at the Australian Powerlifting National Championships and was disqualified from the powerlifting events he competed in at the 2009 National Championships. He was banned for three months for the use of a banned substance, instead of the usual two-year suspension due to the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) being satisfied that he used the substance as part of a supplement and not to boost his performance in the sport.