NZ Powergirls!!

Recently I had the opportunity to check out the Commonwealth Powerlifting Champs which was held in Chirstchurch 5-9 December and boy did I feel like a 50lb weakling.

The girls and guys who competed were just amazing and I was just in awe of their super strength. Ofcourse we already know the amazing feats of Ali Gascoine but there's plenty of girls who also do great things in powerlifting for New Zealand who include Maria Brightwater-Wharf of Wellington and Trish Muldrock of Northland who I snapped during this event.

Lisa and Ali

Maria competed in the Masters 1 class ie in the 40 - 49 age group, Trish in Masters 2 ie 50-59 while Ali decided to go into the Open age 'for a challenge' although she usually competes in Masters along with the 2 girls. They have a great spirit and are very supportive of each other during the contest.

Actually it was the friendship and support shown by all athletes in powerlifting that I noticed most. Most athletes cheer each other on no matter which country they were from and there was also plenty of cheering by the audience to will the athletes on to lift the super weights.

Check out BIG Boys of powerlifting here

Ali, Trish and Maria

Girlpower Unite There all shapes and sizes in powerlifting and they compete in their own weight and age classes, so athletes are always competing against similar sizes as themselves. Some of the countries represented include PNG, Fiji, South Africa, Scotland, England and ofcourse our arch rival Australia.

Go Kiwis Ofcourse we were there to cheer the kiwis on most. Each of the girls had to firstly do Squat, then bench press then deadlift. They all get to do 3 turns at each. While they're in a class competing against other athletes, in the end they're competing against themselves and their own personal bests.

Maria Squats
Trish the bench queen Trish is abit of a legend in the bench press. At 53, weighing 47.1kg Trish is the bench queen. She can regularly bench press 80kg but at this comp she was going for the world record of 83kg. That's 2 and half times her bodyweight! and yep she got it and what a way to do it in NZ. Once her drug testing clears, she should be confirmed as new world record holder.

Ali the deadlift diva. While Trish has the bench down packed, Ali is the deadlift diva. On the day Ali weighed in at 50.2kg she successfully cleared all 3 lifts and got a PB in her final lift of 162.5kg. That's over 3 times her bodyweight!


		Final Results Ali - won her 52kg class and won open women's overall. Maria - won bench in her 60kg class by benching 80kg. Trish - won her 48kg and Masters 2 overall and benched world record of 82.5kg. Well done ladies!!! Lisa

NZ Powergirls!!

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