Twenty, that is the number of national records that were broken on Sunday when the Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF) staged its Sub Juniors/ Juniors and Novices Championship at St Stanislaus’ auditorium.
Best lifter in their respective categories, Romeo Hunter (sub junior equipped) and Sherene Williams (female novices) broke six, four for Hunter and remainder for Williams while the pair of Richard Fredericks (four) and Yogaishwar Seecharan had seven between them.
Hunter, a 15-year-old fourth form student from Apex Academy, had a total of 615kg from squatting 247.5kg, benching 155kg and dead lifting 212.5kg. His total and lifts were all national records. For his heroics, he earned the sub junior overall best lifter trophy.
For Williams, her best lifts in the squat, bench press and deadlift were 147.5kg, 67.5kg and 152.5kg. The 84kg athlete totaled of 367.5kg. Her bench press and total were both records.
Fredericks, lifting in the 83kg Masters 3 category earned the records in the squat (107.5kg), bench press (75kg), dead lift (135kg) and total (320kg).
The 120+kg men’s junior Seecharan, recorded records in the squat (222.5kg), dead lift (237.5kg) and total (567.5kg).
The other records were broken by Arnold Archer (four), Shelly-Ann Gomes (one) and Dennis Jonas (two).
Meanwhile, Sarah Goptar with a total of 245kg, was the best overall female junior lifter. While Nicholas Albert (male junior) and Kheon Evans (male novices) were the best lifters overall in their respective categories.
Lifting in the 93kg class, the 21 year-old muscleman who has competed with distinction on the local and international stage in bodybuilding showed his strength prowess on the platform. He had a best squat of 185kg, a best bench press of 132.5kg and a mammoth 227.5kg deadlift to add more hardware to his trophy cabinet.
Albert’s, 74.78 IPF points were the highest among all junior lifters and he earned the coveted award for the best male junior.
Evans was not to be out done as he recorded the highest IPF points, 77.62, for the entire event. As a result, the 74kg lifter was awarded the best overall Novices male lifter. His squat (192.5kg), bench press (110kg) and dead lift (222.5kg) totaled 525kg.
The championship, the first staged by the federation for the year, attracted in excess of 25 lifters. The next event on the GAPF calendar, the Intermediate and Novices Championship, is tentatively set for April.
