IPF Junior and Sub-junior World Championships
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Copyright L.J. Maile, Ph.D.
The International Powerlifting Federation Junior and Sub-junior World Championships were held in Ft. Wayne, Indiana the 7th through 11th of September. This was a very well attended competition with athletes from 22 countries attended, with many records set and great competition in virtually every class. The competition was held in the recently remodeled Grand Wayne Center in downtown Ft. Wayne. It was one of the more luxurious settings for a Jr. Worlds that has been seen in many years. The hotel was the Ft. Wayne Hilton, a top rank establishment. Ft. Wayne is known as the City of Churches, but they also have some great restaurants, museums and art galleries. In fact, the USA Powerlifting Administrator, Barbara Born has 14 paintings exhibited in the Gallery across the street from the venue. Culture and sport: it can't get any better than that. This competition was hosted by Drs. Mike and Monique Hartle and Gilly Martinez. They provided excellent equipment and staging that was both comfortable and adequate in terms of size and space for warm-ups. This competition was a product of the efforts of a number of people volunteered to assist wherever needed. These included for spotting and loading: Johnny Graham, Rudi Kuster, the German Jr. Coach, Jeff Butt, President of the Canadian Powerlifting Union, Hani Smith, the Coach from South Africa, the U.S. Jr. and Subjunior Coaching Staff, and many athletes who pitched in after their lifting was completed. Gaston Parage, Al and Brenda Siegel, and Erin Dickey worked the scorer's table, and Dietmar Wolf, the Norwegian Coach and Trainer did computer scoring duty the first day. He was spelled off by Alexander xxxxx when his (delayed) flight got in from the Ukraine. Robert Keller handed the Technical Secretary duties, and organized the drug testing officers who were overseen by Drs. Hartle and Hartle. It can't be said enough times that Rob is the hardest working person in powerlifting, and he proved it again this week. Powerlifting is truly a labor of love on the part of those who support it. The supporting cast for that made this Junior and Sub-junior World Championships possible was one of the best groups of individuals probably ever assembled at a competition. Sub-junior Women: There were 30 young ladies contesting the Sub-junior division. Although a little light on participation, the final results were as exciting as they could be. Russia and the U.S. tied in team scoring with 66 points each, with scoring down to 6 places. The lifters performed well in each of the divisions with several sub-junior and one junior world record falling. Japan took the team bronze followed by Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Russia's Alexandra Pinzhenina took the gold medal in the 44 kg. class, with a fine 305 kg. total. She was followed by Alyssa Cordova at 282.5 and Jenna Jaynes at 275. This was Alyssa's second international meet this year, and with tougher competition, expect her to continue to improve. The 48 kg. class was a dead heat, with both competitors totaling 305 kg. Anastasiya Kolisnikova, of Kazakhstan defeated Inessa Dik of Russia on bodyweight. The USA's Caitlin Miller won the 52 kg. class handily, with a 397.5 kg. total. Caitlin has a wealth of international competition experience, including the Open World Championships this year, the World Games, and last year's Sub-junior championships. Caitlin is the Sub-junior world record holder in the deadlift, and set it again this meet. It is also significant that she had won on her first pull, making it hard for most of us to give our best performance. Irina Sergeeva, of Russia failed to get a squat in and as a result, did not receive credit for her World Sub-junior record deadlift. The USA's Katie Vandusen won the 56 kg. class on her final deadlift to total 375 kg., beating out Nataliya Davidova of Kazakhstan for second. Japan's Manami Kohasni took the bronze. In the 60 kg. class, Yulia Lukina was the lone competitor. Nonetheless, she put on a great show, totaling 455 kg. and breaking 500 Wilks points. She was only one of three sub-junior competitors to do so. The 67.5 kg. class had 6 competitors. Viktoriya Bedoidze (Russia) took the bronze with a 450 kg. total. Canada logged their first medal with the silver earning performance of Rhaea Fowler, who totaled 427.5 kg. She beat out the USA's Molly Dennany on bodyweight. The 75 kg. category showed the class of the competition with World Champion Tetyana Skrypka of Ukraine setting sub-junior world records across the board, and a junior bench record of 150 kg. She beat out Ekaterina Sadokhina of Russia by 40 kg. (582.5 to 540), although both are great totals in the open division in this class. Expect to see them battle on the Open platform soon. Japan's Ayako Nishida took the bronze. The 82.5 kg. class had four competitors including the USA's Devan Doan. Devan took the silver medal in total, but reeled in the sub-junior world bench record as she had planned with a 137.5 kg. effort. The class was won by Evgenia Kolodko of Russia. Monica Millet from Louisiana took home the bronze. The 90 class was the sole province of the USA's Bonica Brown. Bonica was slightly off on her squat and dead (she holds the world record in each of this lifts), but set the world mark of 122.5 kg. in the bench press. She has proven to be a consistent performer this year, lifting on the Women's Open team, and the North American Championships. The heavy division showed why the U.S. generally dominates among the bigger lifters. Amber Heard and Tamara Walter took the gold and silver, respectively. They comfortably outpointed Russia's Marina Dzhavikhishvili. Tetyana Skrypka took the Champion of Champions award, followed by Yulia Lukina and Caitlin Miller. Subjunior Men: Fifty five young men took the stage to compete for the sub-junior world title in Ft. Wayne. Each class provided close competition and there were a total of 13 sub-junior world records and one junior record set. In the team competition, Russia scored a perfect 72 points for the gold. The USA took the silver with 59 points, followed by Japan with 49. In the 52 kg. class, Alexander Kolbin from Russia soundly defeated the field with a 560 kg. total. This would have given him the bronze medal in last years Open World Championships in Capetown. The silver went to Japan's Yasumasa Oishi, with a 445 and the bronze belonged to Rayan Bachorz of the USA. Alexander Koval, of Russia, defeated Aleksey Kim of Uzbekistan based most significantly on the strength of his bench press. He out-pushed Kim by 32.5 kg. with allowed a 15 kg. spread after the final pull (492.5 kg. to 477.5 kg.) The USA's Tyler Baines took the bronze with a 445 kg. total. In the 60's, Russia's Anton Krasilnikov posted a total (675 kg.) that would have placed him 4th at last year's Open Worlds. Keep in mind that first through third in the Open exceeded the previous world record. That makes Anton's performance all the more remarkable. He would be competitive at the Open level against three world record holders and men almost twice his age. He set sub-junior records in the squat and bench press and total. The silver went to Russia's Arthur Mashinskii with a fine 637.5 kg. and a sub-junior record in the deadlift. The bronze belonged to Aman Kapyshev from Kazakhstan. The 67.5 class was taken by Russian's Petr Pugachev. Petr totaled 685 kg. to beat Alexey Vlasov, also of Russia by 110 kg. Takuya Kanazawa took the bronze 547.5 kg. The 75 kg. class included the USA's Joe Raehl. Joe placed a credible second with a 570 kg. total. He was beaten out by Aslan Agaev of Russia, and placed higher than Hiroaki Kojima of Japan. Vladimir Agafonov of Russia took the gold in the 82.5 kg. class with a Subjunior world record of 300 kg. in the deadlift along the way. Daijiro Okada and Kyohei Kubo of Japan received the silver and bronze respectively. The USA's Justin Tuinstra was unable to get a deadlift in. There were two competitors in the 90 kg. class, both posting respectable totals. Amiran Basov defeated Shane Brady 745 to 685 kg. The USA's Jeremy Auerbach, of Ohio won the gold in the 100 kg. class by virtue of his dominant bench press. Jeremy broke his own sub-junior world record in the bench with a fine 205 kg. effort. His 705 kg. total allowed a comfortable lead at the end over Efin Naniev (Uzbekistan), and Tomas Sundstrom (Sweden). It should be noted that Sweden, historically one of the IPF superpowers is on the way back, bringing larger and stronger teams to each competition. Perhaps we are seeing a resurgence of the Scandinavian traditions in strength sports. Brandon Fiebiger of the USA won golds across the board in the 110 class to beat Seif Abdulhamid of Sweden and Stephan Straus of Germany. The Republic of South Africa was a noticeable presence at this championships, being anchored by the performance of Johannes Steyn in the 125 kg. class. He set a world sub-junior deadlift record enroute to a massive 855 kg. total. The USA Cooper Wage received the silver via subjunior world records in the squat and bench press. Alex Guilde added to the U.S. medal cache with the bronze. Yuriy Papoyan of Russia, just barely over the 125 kg. limit made the strategic move to the Supers to take the gold. He proved that he is a legitimate contender in this class by setting subjunior world records in the squat and deadlift. Finland's Jani Rainela took the silver with a subjunor world bench record of 222.5 kg. Armen Matt and Mike Hecht took the bronze and fourth place respectively. This was one of the stronger classes and both of these young men represented the U.S. well. Junior Women: The Junior women's competition included 45 women from 14 countries. Russia came out on top, with a perfect 72 points, followed by the U.S. with 52, and Japan with 45. Perennial powerhouse Ukraine placed fourth, with Kazakhstan 5th. In the 44 kg. class, Japanese lifter, Rika Miura totaled 365 kg. She is an excellent lifter, but pulled ahead in the bench press, a specialty of many lifters from Japan. Russia's Tatyana Koroleva took the silver medal 10 kg. behind. The USA's Erin Dickey took the bronze. She was especially pleased to get the silver in the bench press as it has been a more difficult lift for her in the past. Erin is also starting to regain her previous form and momentum after a difficult two years due to a significant injury. The 52 kg. class continued the stellar career of Anna Ryzkova. Anna has gone from a thin, not particularly strong young lady several years ago to a viable open level competitor in the 52 kg. class. Her 457.5 kg. total will likely qualify her for the Open team from Russia in the coming year. The USA's Ashley Awalt returned to 52 kg. for this competition and was successful in breaking the American record in the bench press. He totaled a fine 432.5 kg. Hanna-Elisabet Rantala, from Finland received the Bronze medal. The 56 kg. class continues to be the province of Kira Pavlovskaya. Kira has a several year run at the Jr. World level, but was threatened this year by Anna Shulga, also of Russia. Anna came within 2.5 kg. of catching Kira on the last deadlift. Eleonora Mahpirova, of Kazakstan placed third. The 60 kg. class was a very strong group with consistent totals very deep into the class. They were somewhat overshadowed by the 510 kg. Gold medal performance of Anastasia Yakovleva of Russia. She placed first in every lift, although was not dominant in any except the bench press. In the other movements, her competitors made it a race for the medals. Olga Ustinova, also of Russia took the silver with a 467.5. The USA's Karly Nogle, a member of the Open World, North American, and past sub-junior teams placed third. Carly had a bit of bad luck at the World Games in Germany in July, but proved that she is a GREAT competitor by coming back with a strong performance. She takes home the Bronze in squat, bench, total, and the Silver in deadlift. Yulia Medvedeva (Russia) defeated Yulia Goryachun (Ukraine) by a comfortable margin (27.5 kg.) in the 67.5 kg. class. Natali Burlakova (Kazakstan) won the bronze. There were no U.S. entrants in this class, but it was a very strong top three nonetheless. In the 75's, the USA's Kimmie Everett garnered the Silver medal on the strength of her balanced lifting. She was behind Yulia Goman of the Ukraine, and beat out Stephanie Lefevre of France. Lacy Piccou repeated Kimmie's performance in the next division up, taking the silver medal with a comfortable margin in the deadlift. Lacy had the misfortune to lift against the Champion of Champions, Russia's Murashova, but had a great day and lifted with great poise. Yuka Asai, from Japan placed third, taking three attempts to get in her patented bench press. There were no U.S. entrants in the 90 kg. class. It was a battle of the Eastern Block, with Russia's Shcheglova taking the gold, Poland's Sliwinska, silver, and Uzbekistan's Stesenko, bronze. The four unlimited class ladies were well matched, with all having the potential to medal. Sarah Greenup and Jamie Johnson looked to repeat their battles at the National level, and Norway's Hildeborg Hugdal brought a 600 kg. total into this meet. While they looked to be nominated behind Ukraine's Victoriya Olenytsya, each of these ladies have the capability of big numbers. It was Olenytsya who prevailed, with a very impressive 662.5 kg. total. She looked to struggle for depth some, but managed to get a 250 kg. opener. Hugdal placed second, and was helped in that regard by a lift that was awarded (correctly) by the Jury. Hildeborg ended the day with a 597.5 total, slightly off her best, but a fine performance so far from home. Greenup continues to be the next big thing at Super, with an easy 240 kg. squat, a much improved bench (142.5 kg.), and a 200 kg. deadlift. Johnson, who is a phenomenal deadlifter, won the bronze in the pull despite being slightly off in Ft. Wayne. Junior Men: Seventy nine men competed to make the Jr. Men's the largest division in the competition. Russia came out on top, as expected with a perfect 72 points. The USA received the team bronze with a very strong 58 points followed by a surging Poland with 51. There 21 countries represented in this division giving the warmup room a truly international look. Many different languages and styles of lifting/coaching were in evidence. The 52 kg. class included three lifters, with the USA's David Summers taking the silver medal. David was a little nervous on the World stage, but managed to make key lifts and bring home points for the home team. Evgeniy Karimov, from Russia won this class with a 480 kg. total, and Hisayuki Takase from Japan was third. The 56 class is the province of Jeremy Scruggs. Jeremy has a respectable squat, and a good bench, but he is the king of the deadlift. His 235 kg. pull left his competitors in the dust. Tomasz Zambrzycki (Poland) edged Nebraska and Louisiana Tech's Mike Halfenbrack even though Mike edged him on bodyweight for the deadlift silver. The 60's provided the first opportunity in the Jr. Men's to hear the National Anthem of Japan. Yoshihiro Sato, competing in his last Jr. World meet bracketed a fine 160 kg. bench with 210 and 215 kg. squat and deadlifts, respectively. The USA's Mike Kuhns made a 232.5 kg. squat, and took the gold in the bench as well with a 165 kg., but despite improving his dead, fell slightly behind Sato. Remi Bang, of France took the bronze. Caleb Williams made short work of the competitors in the 67.5 class, getting a 292.5 squat, his 177.5 kg. bench opener, and pulling 262.5 in the deadlift. Tomasz Jarosiewicz from Poland placed a strong second (50 kg. behind), and Takashi Kanazawa, via a world jr. record bench of 200 kg. took the bronze. David Hammers of the USA took home the bronze medal in the 75 kg. class, losing the silver on bodyweight to Poland's Bartlomiej Szymkowiak. They both logged 692.5 kg. overall. Both athletes trailed Vitaliy Kireev, of Russia, who won this class. It should be noted that the first two lifters from Guatemala completed a jr. world competition. The 82.5 kg. class was won by Alexey Ernandes-Ortega, of Russia (hey, I am just reporting it) with an 865 kg. total. This total would have put him only 2.5 kg. behind last year's Open World Championship total set by Victor Furashkin, the many time world champion. Dmitriy Zinovyev from Kazakstan totaled 787.5 for second, and Marcel Lindholm from Finland ascended the medals platform with the bronze, 10 kg. behind. The 90's saw another playing of the Russian National Anthem, with Vadim Zamornikov totaling 935 kg., and setting a world junior record of 360 kg. in the deadlift. Michal Tatarynowicz, of Poland placed second. Michael is an amazing athlete, with a trim build that belies his power. His squats are lightning fast, and deep as well. He defeated fellow countryman Pawel Krasowski by 12.5 kg. Arsen Abdulkarimov of Russia beat out Andreas Hjelmviet of Norway in the 100 kg. class, by 25 kg. Andreas has a 350 kg. deadlift, and likely more in the tank. His competitors had better build a big subtotal lead or they are likely to be reeled in on the final pull in coming championships. Mykhaylo Artsymovych of Ukraine was 12.5 kg. back for the bronze. The USA's Jeremy Hartman placed fourth with strong lifts, but a very difficult class. Marat Chirkov, who was a skinny kid a few years ago in the Sub-junior championships in Taiwan, grew into the 110 class, and his total showed it. Both he and silver medalist Sergey Sosnovkiy logged 952.5 kg. efforts, but Chirkov was the lifhter lifter by one tenth of a kilo. The USA's John Brown took the silver medal. John's bench has come a long way, to 240 kg. and the gold medal over the past few years. He is a double overhand deadlifter and seemed to have some trouble with grip at this competition. John totaled over two thousand lbs. and his competitors in the open division here at home had better get in the gym. He is coming for you. The battle of Russia, in the 125 class was between Alexey Pankov and Anton Kibirev. They finished 2.5 kg. apart: 977.5 to 975. The USA's Michael Tuchscherer, from the Air Force Academy placed third. Michael did his first two attempts with no wraps!. He is a very strong squatter who, once accustomed to the gear, will do great things. Aleksandr Kluschev, of Russia defeated Jewgenij Kondraschow of Germany. Jewgenij is build on a giant scale and has the capacity to continue to grow in this class. The USA's Josh Chovanec broke 2000 lbs. to take the bronze. All in all, it was a great championships. It was made possible through the efforts of many volunteers from all over the world. The athletes did their part by providing exciting competition in virtually every class. The crowd was supportive and the accommodations spectacular. Next year, we all meet again in Sophia, Bulgaria to settle the question of who the best young lifters in the world are. |
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