By Trevor Jackson
A STRONG contingent of seven competitors from Ragnarok Power Gym headed to Adelaide on the weekend to contest the 2020 BPC Adelaide Cup and returned with a swag of medals.
Five competitors from the Mount Gambier gym medalled, including gold to Jacob Breuker and Carli van der Hoek, along with silvers to Jessica Correa, Carmen Fitzpatrick and Bekkie Houston.
It was the first sanctioned competition of its type since the covid-19 pandemic closed the sport down earlier this year, but the competitors from Ragnarok were certainly up to the task.
Gym owner Philip van der Hoek said he was impressed with the results considering the disrupted year for the sport.
“We were shut for a couple of months but we rented out enough gear to the competitors so they could keep training at home,” he said.
“For our gym this was our biggest representation at a state meet – we have normally gone to competitions with two or three at most.
“GPC is the biggest power lifting federation in Australia and this was the first sanctioned event since all the covid stuff.
“To go with seven competitors was huge for us and we are stoked with the results.”
The competition sees competitors start with a squat lift, then a benchpress, before finishing with a deadlift.
Each competitor has three attempts at each discipline to amass their highest overall total.
The final tallies were what excited Philip the most.
“Jacob Breuker got a gold medal for the his division and was very good,” he said.
“He did a 305kg squat which is the biggest squat he has ever done.
“He totalled 750-odd kilos all up – he did about a 180kg bench and about 270kg deadlift.
“It is a huge increase from his last competition, probably and extra 100kg on his last total, so he was pretty stoked with his effort.”
Philip said Carli’s performance was also impressive, considering she had dropped a weight division since last year and still managed a gold medal with a personal best deadlift.
“That was pretty good for her,” he said.
“To come down a weight class this year and maintain her strength, then to put up a bigger total than last year, she has done pretty well.
“She pulled a huge deadlift at the end, about 190kg, which was a personal best.”
Philip said to add three silver medals to the gym’s tally was also impressive, considering the amount of competitors at the meet.
Results
Jessica Correa (Silver) – 430kg total, 170kg Squat, 85kg Bench press, 175kg Deadlift.
Carmen Fitzpatrick (Silver) – 302.5kg total, 105kg Squat, 62.5kg Bench press, 135kg Deadlift.
Carli van der Hoek (Gold) – 460kg total, 180kg Squat, 90kg Bench press, 190kg Deadlift.
Bekkie Houston (Silver) – 385kg total, 150kg Squat, 75kg Squat, 160kg Deadlift.
Jacob Breuker (Gold) – 757.5kg total, 305kg Squat, 182.5kg Bench press, 270kg Deadlift.
Tom Golubic – 475kg total, 175kg Squat, 110kg Bench press, 190kg Deadlift.
Levi Bateman – 550kg total, 210kg Squat, 115kg Bench press, 225kg Deadlift.
