– poised to retain champion lifter title

By Marlon Munroe
Randolph Morgan seems poised to retain the champion lifter title after he set a new National, Regional and Caribbean record in the Bench Press on the first day of the fourth IPF/NAPF Caribbean Islands Bench Press and Powerlifting Championships at the Princess Hotel yesterday.

Morgan, lifting in the 82.5kg weight class, looked comfortable throughout the day and executed each lift in the Squat, Bench Press and Deadlift with relative ease.

He set the new Bench Press record in his second attempt at 192.5kg (424lbs) before going on to comfortably lift 205kg (451lbs) for the new mark.

In the Squat, Morgan psyched himself up by shouting “I love you” and “light weights” to the bar before he set a new mark of 295kg (650lbs) on his third attempt,erasing the old mark of 644lbs.

He further stretched the competition out by Deadlifting 295kg (650lbs) before failing, his only miss of the day, on his third attempt at 300kg (661lbs).

After receiving his gold medal, Morgan said that he was confident that he was going to be successful.

He thanked the fans and his team for their support but most of all he said he was grateful to God.

Morgan also gave his regards to teammate Mervyn ‘Spongy’ Moses who had a horrid day at the office.

Moses, who suffered a back injury days before the competition, executed one Squat on his third attempt of 292.5kg (644lbs).

He exhibited his class in the Bench Press but had his first attempt of 177.5kg (391.3lbs) negated after he failed to wait on the instructions of the starter. He converted his next two lifts at 182.5kg (402.3lbs) and 185kg (407.9lbs) respectively.

Moses, who competed in the 75kg weight class, was knocked out of the competition in the deadlift as he attempted 257.5kg (584.2lbs)joining teammate Kelvin Lewis who was knocked out in the Squat.

Guyana had more to shout about when junior lifter Anis Ade Thomas turned in some sterling performances.

Thomas, who is also the first junior to Deadlift 600lbs in Guyana, replicated that performance with a lift of 606.2lbs (275kg) on his third attempt which was flawlessly executed.

His two blemishes of the day, (that by no means undermined his impressive performances) came in his third attempt of the Squat at 252kg (556.7lbs) after he had already squatted 235kg  and 242.5kg.  His only other miss came in his third attempt of the Bench Press when the weight was set at 117.5kg (259lbs).

Debutant Ryan ‘Juice’ Williams won a gold medal in the 75kg weight class ahead of Moses with a best lift 237kg (523lbs) in the Squat, 137.5 (303lbs) for the Bench Press and a flawless Deadlift of 250kg (551lbs). Veteran lifter Winston Stoby, Guyana’s first Pan American medalist who competed in the M-M2 75kg weight class, smiled and Dealdlifted every time before finishing at 272.5 (600.8lbs); the 51-year-old’s best lift in the Squat was at 242.5kg (534lbs) and 137.5kg (303lbs) in the Bench Press. Tariq Immamdeen, who also won a gold medal for Guyana in the 60kg weight class, churned out a memorable performance at his first international meet. His highest Bench Press mark was 75kg (165.3lbs) while he Deadlifted 187kg (413). In other high points of the day, Regional and Caribbean record holder Migdalia Fernandes of Puerto Rico wowed the boisterous crowd with her lifts. In many cases she lifted more weight than the men in her 67.5kg weight class in her perfect outing on day one. She eventually won the gold medal ahead Paula Smith of the United States Virgin Islands, who won gold in the women’s 40-years-and-over category from Trinidad & Tobago’s Yolande Mc Intyre, who also had perfect lifts in the three events, and Cheryl Abrahams in the Women’s Open category. USA’s Thomas Cencich also attempted the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Masters world record of 203kg (447lbs) in the Bench Press but was unsuccessful twice after he had comfortably lifted 175kg (385lbs) on his first try.

Cayman Islands’s Jameel Welcome, 16, had to settle for the silver medal in the 67.5kg weight class behind USVI’s Jonathan Joseph.

Guyana’s Lewis took the bronze medal for participation.

The competition  continues today  at 11:00 promptly.