Hani Watson

Hani Watson (born 20 September 1982) is an Australian para powerlifter. She was the first Australian to qualify in Para-Powerlifting in 12 years with 2024 Paris Paralympics as her debut. Watson is also a two-time Commonwealth Games bronze medalist.

Personal Watson, who has lived in Queensland since she was a baby, was born on 20 September 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand. She was born with bilateral leg metaphyseal dysplasia, which bowed her tibia and femur bones. From the age of 9, she underwent multiple surgeries until she was 34, when her last attempt at correcting her legs failed, as it is known now that she suffers a genetic predisposition meaning that her bones will continue to always grow bowed. Watson now suffers from multiple medical issues such as bone effusion, loss of sensation, muscle atrophy, chronic pain and osteonecrosis.

Powerlifting Watson spent a great deal of time in the gym as her father was a bodybuilder.

Watson has been on a steady increase since her international debut at the Georgia Tbilisi World Championships in 2021 by also securing Bronze at the Asia Oceania Championships in South Korea in 2022.

After a successful three year pathway to the Paris Paralympics, she was ranked eighth in the Women's 86 kg + with a best lift of 137 kg. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics, she finished sixth in the Women's 86 kg + with a lift of 133 kg.

Watson won the bronze medal in the heavyweight powerlifting competition at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.