10th IPF Pan American Championships
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The tenth Pam American Championships was held November 8th through 11th in Miami. But for those of you who don't remember this contest in the last few years, some explanation may help. Powerlifting was, for a number of years, in fact almost 20, a part of the Pan Am Games, a multisport festival held every two years. In the mid-1990's, for a variety of reasons, powerlifting was dropped from the program while a number of sports on the Olympic program remained. Since that time, powerlifters from the North and South American regions have not come together to contest our sport, with the exception of the World Championships, and a handful of friendly internationals over the years.
As IPF powerlifting grows in North and Central America, and continues strong in South America, we hope to revive competition within our hemisphere. This year's Pan American Championships, and next years' Tournament of the Americas are the beginnings of the process of regaining recognition in the Pan American Games and more importantly, uniting athletes in our sport in these closely related areas. The Pan Am Championships were held in, essentially two pieces: The Women's competition, held in a session of its own on the 9th , and the Men's competition, embedded in the 35th Men's World Championships the 10th through 13th. Women's Divisions: The Women's competition included 24 ladies from 5 countries. While there were a greater number of entrants nominated, the number at start time was reduced by difficulties with visas for some competitors, and the economic difficulties some of our countries in this region experience. While some have generous government support, there are a number of countries with difficulty finding money to travel. Those who did put on a great show, with much to build on in the future. 44 kg. Class: The 44 kg. class had three athletes. The USA's Erin Dickey took the gold medal with a personal record 325 kg. total. Her balanced lifting took her 2.5 kg. beyond Colorado's Barb Seips. Barb had the highest squat and deadlift, but had some problems with her bench that gave her a deficit to overcome. She has a great deal left to add to her total. Puerto Rico's Gladys Serrano took the bronze medal with 230 kg. 48 kg. class: Vilma Ochoa, from Ecuador took the 48 kg. class comfortably, with a nice 380 kg. total. She missed four attempts, but was strong enough to set the standard in this class. Vilma was the first of several lifters from Ecuador who were all well coached, and who showed great strength in their squats and deadlifts. The USA's Jonna Ocampo had kind of a tough day with nerves being watched by her family the first time in her long career. She got three attempts in, and took the silver medal. Roximar Vasquez took the bronze with a 240 kg. total. 52 kg. class: The USA had some disappointment in the 52's with Ann Leverett struggling and failing to get an attempt in the squat in. Ann has plenty of strength of in all of her lifts, and has done this weight easily before. She will be back. Ann's early exit proved to be an opportunity that Canada's Diane Richard capitalized on. She struggled in the bench, taking until her third attempt go get whites, but persevered and took home the gold medal. Amanda Constante from Ecuador took the silver medal on a comfortable. Amanda was injured and did, essentially, token bench presses. 56 kg. class: Rosa Castro, of Ecuador won this class going away. She totaled 412.5 kg., and had a very strong squat (167.5 kg.) and deadlift (160 kg.). Her bench was respectable as well at 85 kg. Julissa Quinonez of Puerto Rico took the silver, and Ruth Smith, the first competitor from the Bahamas won the bronze. 60 kg. class: Denise Molina (Ecuador) took three attempts to get her 155 kg. squat opener, but after than, didn't look back. She benched 75 kg. and pulled 165 kg. to defeat Puerto Rico's Carla Perez by more than 50 kg. 67.5 kg. class: The USA's Priscilla Ribic took the gold medal via a 605 kg. total to with the class and the best lifter award. She equaled her personal record in the squat, with 237.5 kg. Her bench was a little off, with two attempts needed to get her opener. Her task over the next few months is to heal up nagging injuries to get back to her world record level performance in this lift. She deadlifted an easy 232.5 kg. on her second attempt, but let 242.5 kg. drift out in front of her preventing her locking it out. Considering that this is 3 ½ times her bodyweight, it is understandable that balance can be the difference between success and failure. The Bahamas' Bernadette Bannister took the silver. Bernadette is a great competitor, having competed and coached internationally a number of times. It is great to see her back on the platform. Yadira Diaz from Puerto Rico took the bronze medal. The USA's Katie Ford experienced her first no total in her long career. She is making her move down from the 75 class, and looks strong in this division. Equipment adjustments and comfort with the different leverages that being lighter bring will dial her in in her new weight class. 75 kg. class: This meet marked the debut in this class for Liane Blyn. Liane is a former strongwoman competitor, and has competed in heavier weight classes in prior USAPL competition. She was a member of the combined USPF/USAPL team that competed at the 1997 IPF Women's Worlds in South Africa. Over the past several years, she spent time developing her strength, and that of student athletes at Arizona State University. Liane took a 185 kg. opener in the squat, which proved to be too light to hit depth. She jumped to her planned second attempt anyway, and after one tentative attempt, nailed it. She got all three attempts in the bench, breaking the American Record on her second (137.5 kg.) and third (140 kg.) attempts. She finished of with a 205 kg. deadlift for a 535 total, the highest in the country this year in this weight class. Paula Houston, just back from her triumph at the Master World Championships in South Africa, weighed in just over the 67.5 kg. She moved up for team scoring purposes, and exceeded her total in South Africa. This shows that traveling half way across the world, competing and winning, changing jobs, and staying in hotels does not dampen either the enthusiasm or lessen the strength of a champion. 90 kg. class: World Subjunior Champion, Bonica Brown is now the Pan Am Champion. Bonica has had a very successful year (2005), placing second in the Women's Nationals Open division, competing in the World Women's Championships, winning the World Subjunior title, and finally winning the Pan Ams. Bonica fell a little short of her goal of a 1,200 pound total (545 kg.), but lifted well and got to hear the Star Spangled Banner again this year. Bonica has added muscle mass, and with a little more work in her equipment, will dominate this class. Jenitza Vargas, of Puerto Rico took the silver medal. +90 kg. class: The unlimited class was the province of Harriet Hall. Harriet was the oldest competitor in the competition, and had the highest total of the meet: 607.5 kg. Harriet struggled with her bench, but got it in on her last attempt. A miscommunication on her deadlift attempts resulted in an overload of 20 kg. (222.5 kg.) on her second attempt. Despite her surprise on initially attempting it, she came back and pulled it on her third attempt. Harriet placed in the medals for best lifter as a result of her performance. Giselle Costas from Puerto Rico took the silver. Team Competition: The Team competition went to the U.S.A. but virtue of a larger team and higher individual placings. Puerto Rico took the team silver, but only just barely over Ecuador which had only four women. When they field a full team, every country in this region should watch out. Men's Division: The Men's Division was held throughout the days of the Men's World Championships, and as such, and tended to be somewhat overlooked in the excitement of the World level competitors. But the competition was every bit as interesting as in the women's division, and reflects the growth in the men's classes in this region as does the women's. 52 kg. class: This region's lone entrant, Ervin Gainer, was unable to get an attempt in during this year. There are a number of able competitors in the lighter classes in both North and South America, but unfortunately none showed in Miami. Had they appeared, there would have been a Pan Am champion from outside the U.S. 56 kg. class: There were two competitors in the 56 kg. class, with the gold going to the USA's Damarrio (Doc) Holloway and the silver to Columbia's Rodrigo Beltran. Doc totaled 615 kg. and showed continually improving balance in his lifts with a 225 squat and a 252.5 kg. deadlift. 60 kg. class: There were two entrants in the 60 kg class as well, with the gold medal going to the USA's Hennis Washington. Hennis squatted an outstanding 260 kg.. He benched 145, and deadlifted 247.5, for a 652.5 kg. total. Columbia's Nieto Castiblanco was unable to get a squat in. 67.5 kg. class: Eric Oishi, from Brazil took the gold medal, with a 20 kg. lead after the bar hit the floor over Canada's Lewis Noppers. Eric used balance across all three lifts and flawless technique to amass a lead that super deadlifter, Noppers would not be able to overcome. Carlos Cevallos, of Ecuador took the bronze medal. 75 kg. class: The lifters in the 75 kg. class had an uphill battle with defending World Champion Wade Hooper appearing in this category. Wade had a little difficulty with the squat (he holds the world record in this lift) and finished with 330 kg. It is hard to imagine that 330 is a bad day, but Wade is good for much more, and will get it next time out. He outpaced the competition in the bench as well, with a 230 kg. effort. 275 kg. for a second attempt in the deadlift was a great effort, and 290 was well on the way before it slipped out of his hands. Canada's Brandon Summers took the silver medal, while Christian Martines of Puerto Rico took the bronze. 82.5 kg. class: Former World Champion, David Ricks took the gold medal with an nice 850 kg. total. Dave expressed his excitement at being able to compete with his peers in the region, and proved that he is the class of this hemisphere, and among the best in the world. Canada's Greg Doucette took the silver with a very nice 787.5 total. This was reported as a Canadian records, and there is certainly much more in there for Greg. Marcus Sanchez took the bronze on the basis of a very strong squat, and some nice technique through the other events. 90 kg. class: The 90's was one of the largest classes in the Pan Am's with seven competitors, and had no U.S. entrant. This left the door open for our worthy competitors from this region to battle it out for the hardware. It was a battle too, with four competitors coming in within 17.5 kg. of each other. Lawrance Araujo, of Brazil took the gold medal with a 770 kg. total. Canada's Jeff Butt, took the silver, and Juan Touma from Puerto Rico the bronze. This has been a great year for Mr. Butt, the President of the Canadian Powerlifting Union, with him winning the North American Championships and achieving runner up status in the Pan Am's. Jeff proves that you can be an administrator and still an active competitor. 100 kg. class: The 100's looked to be a U.S. show coming in with U.S. National Champion Jason Beck and world bench press record holder, Tony Succarotte nominated first and second. Jason improved his performance to a remarkable 945 kg. total (and a number two ranking in the world), with more to come. Unfortunately though, when the dust settled, Tony had some bad luck in the bench press, his specialty, opening the door for Darren Weatherbie, of Canada to move into the runner up position. Darren posted a very nice 855 kg. total via a 320 squat, a 240 bench, and a 295 deadlift. Eric Gagnon, also from our neighbors from the north took the bronze medal. Any coverage of this class would be incomplete without mentioning the performance of Olicio dos Santos, of Brazil. With a sixth place finish, his performance becomes unbelievable when you check the results for the year of his birth: 1944. At 61 years of age, Olicio squatted 232.5 kg., benched 160 kg., and deadlifted 300 kg., all for a 692.5 kg. total. His squat, deadlift, and total are all IPF World Master records. Olicio may also be found in the venue all day every day cheering for all the competitors regardless of nationality. 110 kg. class: Ageless wonder, Hawaii's Tony Harris continued his run of successes with the gold medal in the 10th Pan Am's. Tony was slightly below his IPF Master World Record level perforance, but still posted a 937.5 kg. total. In second, and coming on strong was Canada's Jamie Emberley. Jamie has continued his dramatic improvement over the past few years, posting 350 kg. in the squat, a new Canadian record, 242.5 kg. in the bench, and 295 kg. in the dead. With a little more work on his lockout, Jamie will have a huge pull as well. The bronze medal went to the U.S.A.'s Ryan Goldin. 125 kg. class: The U.S.A.'s Tony Cardella looked to be the favorite coming into this competition, and at the end of the day, was the Pan Am Champion. Tony has had a touch year, with much travel, work, and medical issues, but proved that even on minimal training, can post the big numbers. Canada's Master, and Open National champion, Tom Nichols took the bronze with a 927.5 kg. total. Joe Ube from Ecuador took the bronze. Joe made his first appearance in international competition at the North American Championships. He was not familiar with the technique, especially in the squat, that was required and failed to finish. Like a champion, though, he went home and worked on squat depth, pause in the bench, deadlift lockout, and came back to finish a great day with a top three finish. He is very strong in the squat and looks to be a threat on the international circuit for many years to come. Brazil's Julio Conrado finished just out of the medals, but deserves mention because as a master, he coached all the athletes from Brazil prior to his session, attended IPF Executive Committee meetings and the Congress, and still found the energy to compete. +125 kg. class: The superheavies were won comfortably by the U.S.A.'s Randall Harris. Randall posted a 1,007.5 kg. total via a 380 kg. squat, a 275 kg. bench, and a 367.5 kg. deadlift. He is one of the rank of great Junior lifters coming up. Randall medalled in the World Jr. Championships in 2001 in Bulgaria, and has built on that success by improving his numbers and platform confidence since. David Estrada from Puerto Rico took the silver medal, and gave his team a boost in team points. Bernard Rolle, in his first international competition, took the bronze medal. Team Competition: The U.S.A. took the team competition at the 10th Pan Am's, but were paced by Ecuador, who will be a force in both men's and women's competition in this region in years to come. Puerto Rico took the bronze team medal, and will host the North American Championships next year. Puerto Rico is one of the strongest and largest federations in the North American Region, and plan to show their countrymen heir strength next year. After winning the North American title this year, they returned home to parades and national news coverage. It will certainly be a great show next year in Dorado. Final Words: No competition would be complete without the efforts of the many volunteers who make it possible for the lifters to lift, and the spectators to see a polished, professional show. Robert Keller and his staff outdid themselves. The spotting and loading was expertly handled by Dennis "Niko" Hulslander, the scoring by Joe Marksteiner. Referees from this region officiated. It was a great venue, and an auspicious new beginning to Pan American competition. |
Contest Photos
Thanks to Priscilla Ribic for the photos               
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