GAPLF/Claude Charles Memorial Junior, Intermediate & Masters C/ships…Rahim, Immamdeen, Jagnarine and Moses set new records

Jul 28, 2008 Sports

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By Franklin Wilson
The 2008 Guyana Amateur Power Lifting Federation/Claude Charles Memorial Junior, Intermediate and Masters Championships came off with a bang yesterday at the National Gymnasium where a number of records were rewritten.

Wazeem Immamdeen, the lone competitor in the 52kg (114lbs) category, turned in a sizzling display to capture both the Junior and Intermediate overall titles and also set a new Deal Lift (DL) Record of 424 ¼ lbs, erasing the old mark of 402 ¼ which was set by E. Tappin back in 2006.

Immamdeen went on to achieve a best in the DL of 475 ¾. His best in the Bench Press (BP) was 209 ¼ while his best squat was 358 for an overall total of 1043 lbs.

The other overall champion on the day was ‘Big’ John Edwards who ruled the roost in the Masters Division. He competed in the 125kg 275 lbs class.  

Edwards, just back from dominating regional and international counterparts at the North American Championships, recorded a best squat of 721 ¾, 475 ¾ Bench Press after failing at 512 ½ in an attempt to erase his own record mark of 507 set last year at Critchlow Labor College.   His best BP attempt was 650 ¼ for an overall tally of 1847 ¾ lbs.

In another breathtaking record breaking performance, Vijai Rahim with a bodyweight of 114 lbs (51.8kg) was the only 52kg (114 lbs) athlete and broke the DL record with all 3 attempts he had.

His first attempt saw him lifting 358 which replaced the old mark of 352 ½ set by Boodram Singh 2 years ago. His 2nd attempt was another record (374 ¾) as was the 3rd, 402 ¼, a crowd pleasing display.

For his last attempt, Rahim, who won his category at the Junior and Intermediate levels and placed 3rd overall in both competitions, had to pull out all the stops to bring the weights to the desired position in order to make the lift count and he was urged on by the small but vociferous crowd. His overall total was 859.5, made up of his DL total, squat of 303 and BP of 154 ¼.

While not competing at these championships, Mervin ‘Spongy’ Moses attempted a few record attempts of his own and was successful with setting a new squat record of 683 ¼, knocking out his old mark of 677 ¼ achieved at last year’s Seniors.

Moses’ new BP mark of 374 ¾ also knocked out his old achievement of 363 ¾ also set last year. He failed twice to set a new DL record at 611 ¾ but Bhojkumar Jagnarine was able to achieve the honour of shattering the old mark by successfully lifting the 611 ¾.

The old mark of 606 was achieved by Winston Stoby in 2006.
What makes Jagnarine’s feat more commendable is the fact that he did so even after his 3 attempts which were all good at 551, 584 and 584.  Jagnarine, competing in the veteran category was the only athlete on the day competing against another and he won a straight fight against Winston Stoby in the 75kg (165lbs) class. They also finished 2nd and 3rd overall to Edwards.           

His overall score was 1399 ½ (squat 551 & BP 264 ½) to Stoby’s 1361 (squat 545 ½, BP 248 & DL 567 ½).
Another senior athlete, Dwayne Ferdinand (110 kg / 242 lbs) also attempted to add his name to the record books but failed to break John Edwards’ BP record set back in 1998.   

Other winners on the day in the junior category were Paul Adams (67.5kg /148.5lbs), squat 451 ¾, BP 253 ½ & DL 435 ¼.

Anis Ade Thomas (82.5kg/181.5lbs), squat 440 ¾, BP 665 ¼ & DL 567 ¼. Julio Sinclair (110kg/242lbs), squat 540, BP 341 ¼ & DL 540.

Intermediates, Kelvin Lewis ( 67.5kg/148lbs) squat 475 ¾, BP 220 ¼, DL 446 ¼. Rahim, Immamdeen, Ade Thomas and Sinclair also won at this level while Osbourne was disqualified for not completing all the required lifts.

Veterans, Errol Henry (82.5kg/181.5lbs) squat 507, BP 275 ¾, DL 529. Gordon Spencer (90kg/198lbs), squat 475 ¾, BP 203 ¾, DL 446 ¼.

The winners and overall champions were all rewarded with trophies with Minister of Culture Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony assisting with the presentation of prizes.

Dr. Anthony also took the opportunity to speak with the athletes, congratulating them for sterling performances.
International renowned Bodybuilder and former power lifter Hugh Ross was on hand to declare the championships open.   He noted that he was very happy that the FAPLF saw it fit to name the championships after the late great Claude Charles who made a great impact on the development of the sport here. 

He also told the gathering that Charles made a great impact on his life and moreso his powerlifting career which paved the way for his successful achievements on the bodybuilding stage.

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