Moose Jaw athletes with Unparalleled Performance put together a host of record-breaking performances at the Canadian Powerlifting Union national championships in Ottawa recently.
And with those records came a near-equal number of gold medals.
Perennial world championship competitor Rhaea Stinn was her usual self at nationals, breaking a national record in her 84-kilogram equipped division with a lift of 185 kg in the bench press and, combined with her 235-kg squat and 210-kg deadlift, set a new Canadian record for overall total at 630.0 kg.
Stinn kept at it in the unequipped bench press only competition, as competing in the 72-kg class against five other lifters she put together a press of 120.5 kg to win by 18 kilograms and set a new national mark. Stinn’s performance in the equipped bench press was even more dominant, with her lift of 190.0 kg setting a new national record and winning by more than 62 kilograms.
Kaylee Maruska showed she has a bright future in the sport after setting a slew of records in her sub-junior 72-kg weight class. Maruska set a new marks of 93 kg in the bench and 162.5 kg in the deadlift to go along with a national record of 415.5 kg in the total.
In the unequipped division, Maruska set a national bench press record of 73.0 kg, setting the mark on her final lift. She also claimed gold in the class with a 328-kg total.
Moose Jaw powerlifting coach and long-time national standout Ryan Stinn put on a show in the 120-plus kilogram equipped class, clearing 385 kg in the squat, 275 kg in bench press and 325 kg in the deadlift for a 985.0 total and the gold medal. His total was the third highest for the entire meet.
Stinn also competed in the open equipped bench press competition and finished second behind a familiar face – former training partner and longtime Moose Jaw standout Ryan Fowler, who now lives in Weyburn, won gold with a lift of 250 kg. Stinn attempted and made only one lift of 150 kg and settled for silver.
Aaron Ziffle put together a second-place finish in the open equipped 93-kg class, squatting 315 kg, benching 227.5 kg and deadlifting 260.0 kg for an 802.5-kg total. He missed gold by a mere 20 kilograms.
Competing in Master 1 equipped division, Shantelle Szuch set a national record in her 63-kg weight class with a 180.5-kg squat. She went on to bench 97.5 kg and deadlift 172.5 kg for a 450.5-kg total, also a new Canadian mark and good enough for the gold medal.
Mava Brydges competed in the Master 3 unequipped class and like her teammates put together a record-breaking showing, setting a new bench press Canadian record of 63.0 kg. That, combined with her 97.5-kg squat and 112.5-kg deadlift was good enough for a 273-kg total and the gold medal.
Needless to say, provincial records also took a beating throughout the meet, with the six local competitors breaking a total of 23 Saskatchewan marks during the weekend.
