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Junior powerlifters satisfied with Orlando performances …Gonsalves, Chan, Mack and Toney represents Guyana’s future
Future Stars! From right, Romario Gonsalves,
Teneisha Toney, Britney Mack and Demetri Chan.
By Franklin Wilson in Orlando, USA compliments of Crown Mining Supplies, Fitness Express, Secure Innovations & Concepts, Industrial Safety Supplies, Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club.
The sport of powerlifting has come on leaps and bounds ever since Guyana hosted the Caribbean Powerlifting Championships in March, 2010 and this was after there were many years of dormancy; it was resuscitated in 2008. The Guyana Amateur Powerlifting Federation (GAPF) was revived under the Presidency of Peter ‘Chine’ Green with Ed Caesar as Secretary and ever since, it has been consistently rising. Now under the leadership of Caesar, the momentum is being maintained and improved.
Here in Orlando, USA, the international prospect for Guyana looks very encouraging with some exciting young lifters making their mark.
The 17 year-old pair of Britney Mack and Teneisha Toney along with 19 year-old Romario Gonsalves and 20 year-old Demetri Chan are just some of the exciting lifters Guyana will be unleashing on their Caribbean counterparts and those further afield.
Others here and expected to also do well are Arif Immamdeen and Carlos Petterson. Despite some niggling injuries, Mack (47kg), Toney (57kg), Gonsalves 59kg) and Chan (74kg) all competing in the Raw segment of the championships on opening day, Tuesday, representing well.
Kaieteur Sport spoke with the quartet after they competed. Mack said that she was a bit disappointed she didn’t get the world record and this was due to the fact that she changed up her technique and wasn’t able to perfect it in time.
”I think it was my fault because of the somu technique, I wasn’t getting it properly but other than that it was ok. I think I’ve improved because I am in a lighter weight class now and I did better in my raw performance.”
Toney said she really wanted to do better: “I was very disappointed because I did a 55kg for my deadlift, I don’t even warm up with 55kg but I was happy that I at least finished the meet and did at least one deadlift.”
Not being at 100%, Toney informed, was as a result of an injury she picked up. “About one month ago while I was training I got a back injury and it’s been affecting me on and off. In my second squat I put a strain on it and it just affected everything after that.”
Toney is still contemplating along with her Coach if she would be competing in the Equipped segment of the competition which will start today.
Chan, like Toney and Gonsalves are representing their country for the first time and have turned in stirring performances, in Chan’s words, “It was very exciting and it was a full out fight with the other two countries. It was very competitive. On the last lift I managed to medal and break a Pan American record in the deadlift.”
Gonsalves also set new local records in the squat, benchpress, deadlift and total in a scintillating display of power.
”It’s not bad for the first time; it motivates me to compete internationally as well as motivates me to encourage my fellow lifters locally to up their game.”
Chan informed that from the time he was nominated by the federation last year for this championship, he was focused on excelling and also knew that something special was in store for him.
The meticulous athlete has been keeping a disciplined routine of training and dieting in order to always make the weight class. He informed that in the past he would have had to lose weight to make the weight class and in the process would have felt weak but this time around he ensured that would not be the case.
Gonsalves revealed that he was also happy that he was able to go nine for nine (making all 9 lifts) in his first international meet and first for the past year and a half; Chan was also nine for nine. Gonsalves was also pleased with the level of fight that Chan showed having been plagued by a back injury.
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