2nd IPF Bench Masters World Championships
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Home Court Advantage Pays Off
By Nectar Kirkiris The long anticipated return of the IPF to the nation that founded it occurred on April 18th-21st with the 2nd annual Masters Bench Press World Championships taking place in Killeen, Texas. This was the first IPF event to be held in the USA since 1984. Paving the way for the IPF's return was the settlement of the Frantz lawsuit, which was bought by Inzer, by the IPF and Inzer Advanced Design. If there were any hard feelings left over from this suit within the IPF, it was not evident at this meet as Peter Thorn, from IAD, was present for the entire competition in order to support the IPF. Indeed, even the reclusive John Inzer made a rare public appearance at the lifting venue. In addition, IAD provided a great deal of sponsorship to meet director Johnny Graham, which he was very thankful for, and also provided free bench shirts for members of Team USA. USA Powerlifting would like to send a very heartfelt thank you to all the people at Inzer Advanced Design for all their hard work in making this meet so successful. Putting on a national meet is a major undertaking and can be a very stressful experience. Putting on an international meet is even a bigger undertaking especially given the fact that the IPF pretty much runs the show with the meet director being there just to provide for their needs. Add to this the fact that no American had put on an IPF event for about 18 years and it would seem like a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, one of the best meet directors in the USA was in charge. Johnny Graham and his staff ran a flawless competition that greatly impressed everyone in attendance. Mr. Graham has an army of volunteers (both literally and figuratively) helping him out and they all worked their tails off to make this event successful. Equally impressive was announcer, Terry Brady's, ability to pronounce all of the lifters names. Terry was also flawlessly calling out the weights for the spotters to load the bar with while simultaneously announcing. Being Dennis "Rain Man" Brady's brother, I assumed that this ability is something that just runs in the family. The lifting was held in a large ballroom and the warm up room provided plenty of space to move around freely. There were many vendors in attendance and the Killeen shopping mall across the street from the meet hotel proved to be very popular with many of the international lifters. The Competition began with an opening ceremony by a military honor guard from Ft. Hood, which is the largest military installation in the free world with over 45,000 soldiers stationed there. Given the war that our nation is presently fighting, this was a great way to begin the competition and I personally felt very proud to be a member of Team USA and to represent our great nation before the whole world. In general, the judging seemed to be an improvement from last years competition in Luxembourg but, it still seemed to be a few steps below the strictness required at USAPL Bench Press Nationals and even a little too politically biased at times. For example, Larry Miller was warned about keeping his glutes on the bench while it seemed like many other lifters throughout the competition where credited with lifts that appeared not to follow this rule without any similar warning. Also, it appears that the issue on what is an appropriate shoe to wear for a bench press competition may be open to some revision very soon from what I saw among the technical officials. The present rule states that any sports shoe/sports boot is allowed. It appears some officials take a very narrow view of what a sports boot is because one US lifter nearly had his hiking boots turned down while many other lifters, especially the Japanese, were wearing regular boots without incident. This seemed to spark some debate among the officials there with a request being made to the technical committee to review this matter at a later date. I truly hope that the IPF technical committee doesn't see it necessary to specify what type of shoes are required as they do with bench shirts and squat shoes. Team USA put together a spectacular performance for this competition. Our total medal haul was Gold - 17, Silver - 16 and bronze - 9. We won team gold for the both women's classes and for men's master II. We ended up with silvers for men's master I and III. I believe this is the second best performance by the USAPL in IPF competition after 2001 team at the Masters Powerlifting Championships. Our performance was the result of a true team effort by every one involved. Not only did we dominate in competition but we did so by showing lots of sportsmanship by conducting ourselves in a manner that should make all USAPL members very proud The start of the competition was a good omen of things to come as Ann Leverett had a spectacular performance in the 48kg class going 3 for 3 with each lift breaking the world record. Ann is a very good powerlifter as well and told me that she gives her old squat suits to her son who is a 132lbs'er. I wonder how many guys can say they get hand-me-down equipment from their mom. Lisa Carrol showed lots of improvement in her bench from women's nationals and took forth in the master II 52kg class. A good argument for most improved lifter can be made for Diane Siveny who won the silver in the 56kg class, while loosing out on the gold on bodyweight. Diane had a rough meet last year in Luxembourg. This year her biggest problem was that she was locking the weight up with too much power, which was causing the bar bounce down at lockout and getting her red lights on her first 2 attempts. By her third attempt we were finally able to add enough weight onto the bar to slow her down enough for 3 whites. One of the most inspirational lifters in the meet was Jeanne Harms who finished 5th in the same class. Jeanne is a diabetic who has to wear an insulin pump at all times. Jeanne was initially stopped on her first attempt by the head judge because he wasn't sure what was on her legs. When the other officials explained that it was approved by the technical committee, she went on to lift without incident. Remarkably, she flew back to Colorado early to lift in another competition just 2 days later. Helen Sauer showed great improvement in her lifting in the 60kg by coming back and beating Danielle Taret of France, who she lost to last year. In the 67.5 kg class Kathleen Jones had to settle for silver after coming very close to locking out 97.5kg, which would have give her the gold. In the Masters II, Eula Compton came in 4th in a very tough class that saw Chiyomi Sawa of Japan break the world record. The 75kg classes continued to add to our medal count with a 3rd place finish for Maureen Post in the Masters I class and a 1st and 2nd place finish for Donna Steele (what a great last name for a powerlifter) and Regina Hackney respectively. Donna was quite nervous before the competition but once she got onto the platform she was all business and went 3 for 3 with 9 WHITE LIGHTS. Andrea Sortwell had a great competition in the 82.5kg Master I class. The fact that she broke her world record twice on her 2nd and 3rd attempts almost seems mundane for this talented lifter only because she always seems to set a record whenever she's on the platform. The local press took note of her performance as she received a nice write up in the sports page of the Killeen newspaper. Paulette Calhoun took the silver in the Master I 90 kg class. What is remarkable about Paulette is that she is a cancer survivor and was able to comeback and lift at the highest level. She is also one of the sweetest ladies you could ever meet and a true inspiration to all of her teammates. The 90+kg class, although small, had some very dominant performances by our lifters. Sue Hallen set the world record on her second attempt in the Master I and Harriett Hall roared her way to breaking the world record 3 TIMES in her first 3 attempts in the Master II. However, disaster struck when she and her coach, Larry Maile, decided to take a 4th attempt. What should have been a fairly easy lift based on her last attempt, went up about 2 inches from her chest before her right arm gave way. Although she was obviously in excruciating pain (she had to have her bench shirt cut off), the first words out of Harriet's mouth when she got off the platform were, "I'm coming back". If there's anyone who can do it, it's Harriet. I and the rest of USA Powerlifting wish her a speedy recovery. For the men's action, the plot revolved around us being able to stay within striking distance of the Japanese in the lighter weight classes in order for our big boys to close the gap and pass them in the heavier ones. The Japanese can not only field lifters in the lighter classes (52kg-60kg) but, the lifters they do field are of very high caliber. Despite these long odds, our men were still able able to win the team gold in the Master II, go down to the wire in the Master I and pull in a solid 2nd in the Master III. Getting things started for us were John Corsello and Andy Bates who both won silvers in the Master I and Master II respectively. John ended up winning the gold last year when the original winner ended up failing his drug test after the contest in Luxembourg. Since John didn't have the opportunity to be on the medal stand and here the playing of our national anthem because of this, the team decided that he should be the one to carry our flag in during the opening ceremonies for this contest. John is a great person and we were all very proud to see him up there with Old Glory. The 67.5 kg class provided for some interesting drama. Jules Pellegrino won the bronze in a very tight class after the original winner, Toru Magome of Japan, was disqualified after an official discovered that he was wearing several additional pairs of boxers under his lifting suit in order to make it easier for his butt to touch the bench. I wonder how long it will take before someone decides to inject the posing oil, synthol, that bodybuilders use into their glutes for the same purpose. Joseph Scribner, who agreed to be on the team on very late notice, finished 4th in the master I's in his first international competition and Ivan Zwick had to settle for 3rd in the Master III after just missing the silver by not being able to lockout his last attempt. The 75kg class provided the stage for one of the most recognizable, big name benchers in the USA, Larry Miller. Larry was returning to competition for the first time after a rough go at the Arnold Classic, which resulted in him hurting his lower back. Even though Larry wasn't able to bench with his feet on the floor until about 2 weeks before this competition, he still easily won the gold in the Master I and just missed a 220kg 3rd attempt that would have won him best lifter. Instead, he had to settle for 2nd best lifter after Kruk of Poland. Although most lifters would be ecstatic after such a performance, Larry was a little disappointed. I suppose that it's these kinds of lofty standards that separate the great lifters from everyone else. In the Master II's, Jay Haines easily won the silver and arguably should have won the gold when a questionable 3rd attempt was passed for Yuji Kotach of Japan. The Master III had 2 very classy individuals lifting for the US in Hurley Meeks and Jim Merlino. Hurley won the silver by making 2 of his 3 attempts. What is truly remarkable about Hurley is that he was seriously injured when as a paratrooper in the military, he survived jumping out of a plane without having his chute open. This probably explains how he can stay so calm and level headed during such an intense competition as this. Jim Merlino had a rough go and could not get an attempt passed. Jim is one of the greats in our sport and won his first national powerlifting title about 2 years before I was born. His wisdom and insight about our sport greatly benefited everyone who talked to him in Killeen and he was a great asset to our team. Greg Zangl, in the Master I, had the field stacked against him this year as several foreign lifters moved up in weight in order to avoid facing Larry Miller. In spite of this, he just missed winning the silver by missing his 3rd attempt and unfortunately had to settle for 4th. His son Ford once again proved to be a good luck charm for us and was just adorable at the banquet were he was dressed up as a cowboy. Dana Rosenwieg turned in a solid performance in his first IPF meet and finished in 6th place. In the Master II's, Jim Klostergaard was in the zone and won the gold by setting the world record on his opener and then breaking it again on his third. Stewart Weigand and Joe Mcdermott were in a very tough class in the Master III with less than 40 lbs separating 1st to last place. Stewart, who was assisted by national bench press champ Leonard McCormick, was briefly the world record holder in this class before Bill McFayden of Great Britain eclipsed his mark on his 3rd. He had to settle for the bronze due to loosing on bodyweight to Olavi Kallio of Finland. Joe finished in 5th after coming close for the bronze on his third. On of powerlifting true superstars, Gene Bell, took silver in the 90kg Master I class after a very tough battle with Matsou Yokoyama of Japan. In spite of not being known as a bencher, Gene has managed to win a gold and silver in the last 2 Master Bench Press Worlds. Along with being a great lifter, Gene is one of the true gentlemen in the sport. Over dinner I could hardly get him to say anything about himself because he was so busy talking about his son, who is a very good athlete also, and his younger brother, who Gene claims was a better lifter than him in high school. Bill Phillips won the gold and set the world record in the Master III. Bill is a stonemason in New Jersey and only began competing a few years ago after his son told him that he was too old to lift weights. What's the old saying of children should be seen and not heard. David Chevalier easily won silver in the 100kg Master II class but Jerzy Fermanek of Poland was just head and shoulders (very thick shoulders) above every one else in this class. Seeing Fermanek in person, it is hard to believe that he is both 50 and only weighs 220. Steve Caldwell dropped down a weight class this year and finished 4th in this tough class. Jim Bourisaw won the bronze in the Master III and couldn't quite make his last lift, which would have given him the silver. In the 110's, Tom Babcock moved up from the 100's to lift in this brutal class and finished a respectable 4th for his efforts. Winning this class again was Wieslaw Kruk of Poland, who after securing the gold and best lifter with his opener decided to take a 90lb jump of his last attempt for a crack at 300kg. As far as I know, this is about 50lbs OVER his best…and it showed. He was barely able to unrack the bar, which he normally does himself, and immediately had the bar basically free-fall and pin him to the bench. The Master II's saw Greg Chrun of St Louis move up an age group and win the gold and 3rd best lifter in the meet with his 3rd attempt after David Brooks made a big 20kg jump between his first and second to briefly take the lead. This appeared to be a very clever strategy by Mr. Brooks since it appeared as though he sand-bagged his opener to try to make us go more conservative on Greg's second attempt. Although this worked temporarily, Greg was just too much for him to handle when 3rd attempts came around. Also, in this class was Powerlifting legend Jim Cash. Jim finished 5th in spite of also not being known as a bencher. He is one of the most interesting and dynamic individuals that I have ever met and being able to sit down with him and listen to some of his stories of lifters and competitions of the past was one of the highlights of the whole competition for me. Murray Marsh won the bronze in the Master III against 2 very tough competitors. Brad Klinger won the gold in the Master I 125kg class even though his closest competitor, Vladimi Simonenko of Russia was given what appeared to be 2 very generous white lights on his second attempt to briefly take the lead. Brad is a very mild mannered person but I thought he was going to explode once he saw that call for Simoneneko. Fortunately, he channeled all of that energy into his final attempt instead of the judge's necks and with a very large US contingent cheering him on, he made his third, which was also a world record, with room to spare. His training partner, Fred Dini, won the Master II class after waking up with a very sore lower back the morning of the competition. Luckily, our resident chiro, Bernie Miller was able to help Fred out and get him to a point where he could bench with his feet on the ground. After his attempts, it looked as though Fred was going to roll off the bench and crawl off the platform. Luckily, hand-off guy extraordinaire, Eric Curry was there to help him with a lift off there too. The SHW class saw big Dan Gudreau break his own world record and win the gold. Bruce Edwards won the bronze even though he was experiencing some serious shoulder pain, which greatly limited his performance. Bruce was a real trooper and must have tried everything from acupuncture to animal sacrifices in order to heal his shoulder while down in Killeen. Unfortunately, the silver went to former sumo wrestler Ichiro Ujiie of Japan, who managed to put down his cigarette long enough to get in one bench. The Master II class had Gip Duggan winning the silver. Gip had quadruple bypass surgery a few years ago and is quite a character to be around. The banquet and awards ceremony was very impressive with lots of delicious Tex-Mex food and southwestern style decorations. In the spirit of Texas, a few members of the Finish team showed up wearing cowboy hats…you can't say that you've lived until you've heard someone say, "Howdy partner" in a think Finish accent. Not to be out down as the center of attention was a female lifter from France who showed up wearing a dress that would make a stripper feel self conscious. This same lifter was walking around topless with just a g-string in the warm-up room after her session ended…I didn't have the heart to tell her that she was about 700 miles away from the nearest topless beach. The highlight of the banquet was having the Japanese SHW, Ujiie, get up and do several Karaoke songs. I'm really kicking myself for not having a video camera there because it's not everyday that you see a 350lb former Yokozuna singing "Yesterday" by the Beatles. It's unfortunate that Bernie Miller couldn't be there because we couldn't get him away from the Karaoke machine at the hotel bar the night before. No team at this level can be successful without a hard working, competent coaching staff making sure that everything is running smoothly for our lifters. What I think has makes the coaching staffs for the masters bench press team so successful is that no one shows up with any kind of ego or attitude. It was always a team effort. Everyone played their role masterfully and the overwhelming positive response I received from the lifters showed that they recognized this. This year's team was very fortunate to again have Kevin Farley as the head coach. Kevin did a masterful job of keeping track of everyone's attempts in order to maximize their placement in the competition. Although Eric Curry originally came out to help us out in the warm up room, the lifters quickly decided that they would rather have him out on the platform giving the hand-offs. So now, not only is Eric considered one of the best hand-off guys in the US but he's quickly gaining the same reputation in the rest of the world. I just hope that the Japanese and Europeans check with us first before they fly him out for their bench nationals. Stepping up to help me out in the warm-up room with bench shirts was Micah Gerraghty who also trains with Brad Klinger and Fred Dini. Micah worked tirelessly for us and was fantastic to have around. Also, helping us out was Marv Coleman, who came in with Bruce Edwards, Earl Leverett and basically every other lifter who after finishing up either helped out in the warm-up room or cheered on their teammates from the audience. This was truly a team effort and everyone associated with this team deserves the credit for our success. |