130 lifters were squeezed into three days at AusFitness Expo in Sydney and that squad came through with a slew of major results and records.
The audience magnet of the show once again was AI Temaki from Nauru, with his 402kg Squat upping the ante from his 400kg-even in Melbourne last March. 410kg/903lbs came up for AI too, but three reds on depth was the bad news delivered by the referees. When it came to points though fellow Nauruans Dave Mwaredaga with 763kg at 94kg and Dyke Daoe with 720kg at 85kg came out 1st and 2nd in the men’s overall Best Lifter score.
Other international standouts were USA’s Hayden Hagemeier with 572kg at a tiny 61kg bodyweight, the Barber of Lagos Jerry Anonye with 688kg at 94kg and Tongan/Australian Tevita Pongi with 726kg at 120kg.
In the Women’s lifting Australia’s Isabella Thomson continued to struggle back to her former 500kg form with 483kg at 72kg and grabbed Best Lifter here. In the heavier Women a good Total came from Riley Bell-Kainiu of New Zealand but 200 and 201kg Masters Deadlift records from Kelly Jarvie and Elizabeth Tassell were the lifts that set the crowd alight.
Onward and upward will go Oceania’s lifters from here, with the World Championships in Sri Lanka now only two months away.
The first World Powerlifting Asia Championships, held in Kathmandu, opened up the sport in that region, with 130 lifters setting records and drawing big crowds live and on-line.
Home nation Nepal on produced a world record setter, 69kger Bikin Joshi benching 169kg to put paid to Aussie Usukh Od-Erdene’s previous mark. Bikin’s 640kg Total was good enough for Best Lifter, 20 points ahead of the dashing Dr. Rajib Shrestha who punched out 697kg @85kg. Up at 120+kg Sri Lanka’s Ransilu Jayathilake was a standout in the Squat and Deadlift,with 275kg and 310kg, but a shoulder injury and very moderate bench kept him out of the Best Lifter race.
In the womens lifting Nepal was again the top nation, but India was also to the fore. Chinmayee Das took out Best Lifter Women with 460kg @ 84kg, with multiple Indian winners in Deadlift.
This was a great event and a tribute to meet director Sukadev Karki and the Nepal team. Now the next chapter in Asia will be the World Championships in Colombo, Sri Lanka November 27-30.
World Records rained down as China’s top 20 lifters were brought together by A7 and Samtek/Lead Strong at the China Strength Summit.
Straight off three WR Totals came from Guanheng Wu with 607kg @62kg, then next class up Chaoke Hu produced a 246kg Squat record in a record 652kg Total. However Best Lifter overall and winner of a Samtek rack was 77kger Yikelamu Aili with 730kg Total and a big 626 Wilks 2020 points.
Not far behind Hu, with 616 points, was Minwang Ma with 757kg Total @ 85kg, while 94kg Deadlift Superstar Qi Liu looked a touch unlucky with two reds twice on 327kg WR tries taken oh so close to lockout. But leaving no doubt was Kailang Zhang with a three whites 273kg Squat WR at 77kg.
In the Womens hardy perennial Jiaojiao Xu was close to 600 points and 5000 RMB richer via nine successes and 583kg Total. At the other end of the bodyweight spectrum 53kg Fanqin Mu was solid with 365kg for Womens runner up.
World Powerlifting China bounds ahead, the Summit showcasing just how strong this nation has become. Next up are the Asian and World Championships for China’s elite.
A standing room only crowd throughout two days saw records broken and the triumph of the talented team of Nauru at the Asia Pacific Championships. WRs came from Deamo Baguga, returning from 7 years in obscurity to squat 301kg@ 85kg and Dave Mwardaga, also with a Squat record, 310kg @ 94kg. But the star of the show was Superheavyweight AI Temaki, buried on a 400kg Squat but then roaring back to get it deep and three whites on his last attempt.
Team Sri Lanka was up there also, headed by veteran Ransilu Jayathilake, hampered by a lat injury but on top in the 120kg class. India’s lifters had to jump the visas hurdle and arrived half way through the meet but produced medals via Sarabjit Singh and Tejbir Singh.
Best Womens Lifter was Rachel Green (NZ), while Deamo Baguga went over the 600 point barrier to take Best Men’s Lifter.
This event was massively viewed in the Expo but was only a forerunner of the Asian Champs in Nepal August, the Oceania Championships at AusFitness Expo Sydney September and the World Championships in Sri Lanka November.
112 lifters charged through the tight 2024 AusFitness Expo schedule to produce a swag of records and outstanding performances.
Out in front as Men’s Best Lifter was Aaron Terry USA with a PB 913kg., a big 608 points, backing up just 6 weeks after the USAPL Nationals. In the Womens Australia’s Isabella Thomson continued a comeback from injury to take the Best Lifter Womens with 475kg/567 points and soon will be back over 500kg.
The best single lift of the meet was surely Qi Liu’s 326kg WR Deadlift, coming through on that last lift to pip Matt Middleton of Australia on bodyweight in the 94s. Just as hard fought was the 105kg class, where Xi Tan finally got his 800kg Total, to win over Fern Cook of Nauru.
Controversy of the meet was surely AI Temaki’s Squat odyssey. After looking like a struggler on 360kg and 380kg, 400kg was surprisingly good, but two reds came up after a premature knee-bending celebration. But a spotter touch brought on a successful appeal, then came the inevitable fail on a 4th attempt.
Top team Womens was Australia and in the Men’s China held off Nauru by a single point.
Next year the Worlds will be in Colombo, Sri Lanka with 4 days, 2 platforms November 26-30. Contact your national body now to get ready for surely the biggest event in WP history.
The World Powerlifting World Championships are just one event at the Southern Hemisphere’s largest fitness show, AusFitness Expo at the Sydney International Convention Centre, October 11-13. But standing out amongst 200 exhibitors and a dozen sports will be WP’s top athletes in the feature event of the year.
The World Powerlifting World Championships are just one event at the Southern Hemisphere’s largest fitness show, AusFitness Expo at the Sydney International Convention Centre, October 11-13. But standing out amongst 200 exhibitors and a dozen sports will be WP’s top athletes in the feature event of the year.
Standby to see the inspirational Bench Queen Paralympian Hani Watson return to the platform after her Paris 6th place. Then top USA lifter Aaron Terry will take on Nauru’s 400kg Squatter AI Temaki in the Supers. A top Team contender will surely be China, headed by Xi Tan, with Nauru, India, New Zealand and of course Australia all challenging. All supported by Australia’s leading health retailer Chemist Warehouse and the world’s top Powerlifting equipment suppliers, Samtek, A7 and Lead.
Enquiries to [email protected]
Entries are now open for 2024's big event, the World Powerlifting Championships. This elite competition will be held in Australia at the giant Sydney International Convention Centre on October 11-13 as part of AusFitness Expo, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest trade show.
Teams will be coming from WP’s member nations + other individuals are welcome. All age groups, Open, Youth, Junior, Masters competing in Powerlifting, Bench Press and Deadlift.
Enquiries to [email protected]
The Asia Pacific Championships took off in front of a standing room only crowd throughout two dynamic days at Australia’s dominant fitness trade show, AusFitness Expo.
Top lifter in the mens was Xi Tan from China, subduing Fern Cook of Nauru 790kg to 787kg in a showdown at 105kg. More big results came from Nauru, with Dyke Daoe totaling 647kg at 77kg and Angin Gadabu 712kg at 94kg. But it was Super AI Temaki who brought the house down with a near miss on 400kg Squat on the way to an 817kg Total, also for Nauru, finishing ahead of the Illustrated Man, Federico Sabelli of Italy.
Not lost in the big Totals were 20+kg improvers Ben Hogan 680kg at 94kg and Tevita Pongi 696kg as a light 120kg, now both favourites for the Aus Champs in July. Christian Stranges narrowed the gap on his nemesis Seth Snijder for the title of Oceania’s Strongest Junior, 713kg to 730kg. And at the other end of the maturity spectrum 80 year old John Yuen benched an age World Record of 90kg.
In the Womens lifting Olivia Zhang was pared down to 53kg and took out Best Lifter over Rachel Green of New Zealand. Not far behind, with an age 50-54 World Record, was Sandra Alcorn. But trying to upstage Sandra was venerable age 75-79 Junko Matsuzaki, setting Australian Records.
Storms and power outages couldn’t stop the Oceania Championships in Nauru taking off and producing multiple World & Oceania Records. One of those wasn’t Kryzstof Wierzbicki in the freestyle Deadlift, an adductor injury limiting the special guest from Poland to “only” 460kg. That was smooth and locked out and 502kg and more will surely come soon.
In the Women’s lifting way out in front was Yani Zhao with stunning World Records in the 100kg Squat & Total, 221kg and 565kg and more than 600 points. 17 year old Nei Neneiya coasted through the Youth records in her first contest and is a lifter with a future.
In the Men’s the 94kg class was riddled with talent. Bob Adams set a WR in the Squat but wound up 5th. Then came Jesse Roland with World Masters Records in 4th. 3rd was out of his class 85kger Deamo Baguga who’s 86.6kg bodyweight let him score overall Best Lifter in the Men’s. Matt Middleton of Australia snuck into 94s 2nd with 750kg but it was Dave Mwaredaga who came from nowhere for the win with 765kg. Other big winners were World Champions Dyke Daoe 77kg and Joash Teabuge 120kg, while AI Temaki again overcame depth problems to squat an easy 390kg, on his way to 400kg+ at the Asia Pacifics.
The Bench Press was also concentrated in the 94s. There Angin Gadabu outdid the fortuitously named Ed Coan Demaunga, 185kg to 180kg to wrap up the event of the year in Powerlifting fixated Nauru. Minister for Sport and 220kg BPer The Hon Jesse Jeremiah was in attendance and it was his Department’s support that made the Championships happen.
The Oceania Championships are happening in Nauru on February 23 & 24 and special guest Krzysztof Wierzbicki is threatening to make history with a freestyle 502kg Deadlift. The world record stands at 501kg by Hafthor Bjornsson, after Eddy Hall set the pace with 500kg. But now 100kg bodyweight Kryszstof is set to charge beyond the marks of those 170kg behemoths with a 5 times+ bodyweight feat in the Nauru Deadlift Open.
Then in the Championships there are stars galore –
# reigning World Champions Dyke Daoe 77kg and Joash Teabuge 120kg will open their 2024 campaigns
# Bench Press specialist Langer Olsson Wharton will tackle the Oceania record with 224kg@ 105kg bodyweight
# Australian Champions Matt Middleton Men’s 94kg and Yani Zhao Womens 100kg will both aim for Squat World Records.
Last minute entries are still open. Contact your World Powerlifting national body for your chance to be a part of history.
