Guyana’s lone participant at the just-concluded North American Powerlifting Federation (NAPF) Regional Championships in the Cayman Islands, Anis Ade-Thomas, smashed his Commonwealth record whilst copping a silver and a bronze medal.
Thomas won a silver medal in the 83kg – 93kg men junior category while he copped bronze in the 83kg men’s Open category.
According to a release from the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF), Ade-Thomas set personal bests and national records for the squat 265kgs/584.32lbs, bench press 132.5kgs/ 292.16lbs, dead lift 295kgs/650.47lbs and total 692.5kgs/1,526.96lbs at the championships. The 83kg Commonwealth junior dead lift record holder, set a new lift of 295.0kg besting the 292.5kg that he set at the Caribbean Championships in March of this year. The men’s Open 83kg category, saw one of the tournament’s best clashes between Ade-Thomas and Joshua Thibeaux of the United States of America battling it out for second place honors behind the outstanding Brooks Conway of the USA who won the gold.
Both Ade-Thomas and Thibeaux started the squat dead even at 265kgs/584.32lbs before Thibeaux gained the lead with a bench press of 182.5kgs/402.41lbs to Thomas’s 132.5kgs/292.16lbs.
Entering the final lift (dead lift) and trailing his rival by 50kgs/110.25lbs, Ade-Thomas pulled out the stops to set a personal best and new Commonwealth Junior dead lift record of 295kgs/ 650.47lbs to Thibeaux’s 245kgs/540.22lbs, erasing the deficit and finishing equal with his rival on a total of 692.5kgs/ 1,526.96lbs.
Thibeaux, however, had a bodyweight of 82.7kgs to Thomas’ 83kgs and subsequently gained the nod for second place. Thomas ended third. In an invited comment, President of the GAPF, Peter Green, stated that he was “delighted that Thomas had justified the confidence and funding placed in him by the executive in what was an extremely challenging championship in his last year as a Junior,” (under 23 years).
Vice-President of the GAPF, Edwin Spencer, served as Guyana’s representative at a World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) symposium and the North American Congress.
Spencer, who enjoyed a successful maiden debut as an IPF Category II referee along with Ade-Thomas, was expected to return to Guyana last night.
