One of the biggest events on the Powerlifting Australia is the annual Australian Powerlifting Championship, now held within the Fitness Show with Melbourne being the host for 2017! The event will run from Friday October 13 to Sunday October 15 starting with lightweight males and females and ending with super heavyweight males and females on Sunday afternoon!
The Australian Powerlifting Championship is the premier event for athlete selection to the 2017 Asia/Oceania Powerlifting Championships held in Singapore as well as the 2018 Classic World Championships held in Calgary, Canada. Win your class and your spot on the plane to Singapore and/or Canada is all but sealed.
With that said, let’s dive into each weight class and see what Australia has to offer at the 2017 Melbourne Fitness Show!
Friday October 13
Session 1
-47kg Women
My pick: Wendy Chan (Queensland)
Coming back down to the -47kg class for what may be her last national meet as a -47kg lifter, national record holder in squat and total, Wendy Chan is the lifter to beat in the first session of the Australian Powerlifting Championships! Coming off an incredible run in the -52kg class with her total peaking at 353.5kg at the Junior Australian Championships, at only 49.95 bodyweight, a huge increase to the current national records looks to be on the cards! She dominated junior nationals through a 133kg squat, 75.5kg bench press and a 145kg deadlift which pushed her to second in the country in the -52kg class, now only one place behind the great Elizabeth Craven (Australiian Capital Territory). Having a tough time to cut weight for this meet and a hip injury plaguing her squat and deadlift, I doubt her strength levels will be where they were at junior nationals, but whatever she totals it should be enough to hold off her competitors whilst possibly breaking some national records in the process.
Now, I’m going to try and be as objective as possible with this portion, but seeded second is Nicola Frazer (New South Wales), a lifter I coach full-time. Frazer is the current national record holder in bench press in this class and has been killing training at present in preparation for this meet. She has competed only once this year totaling 302.5kg in what was a rough meet almost bombing on bench press. She has bounced back incredibly well and I’m looking forward to what she brings to the table at this meet before a long off-season into next year. Kara King (New South Wales) was nominated but unfortunately has had to withdraw due to injury and would have definitely given Nicola a run for her money for that silver medal position.
Another New South Wales lifter, Hollie Kempton (New South Wales) is making her debut at national level and will most likely not be competitive on total but has an enormous deadlift on her in this class and could challenge for the national deadlift record, currently held by Australian legend, Mary Macken (New South Wales).
It should all be about Wendy Chan who looks solid to take her second straight national championship in the first session of the Australian Powerlifting Championship!
Current national records
|
Squat |
125kg |
Wendy Chan |
|
Bench Press |
73.5kg |
Nicola Frazer |
|
Deadlift |
140kg |
Mary Macken |
|
Total |
327.5kg |
Wendy Chan |
Chan with her most recent meet at the Junior Australian Championships going 133/75.5/145 for a 353.5kg junior Australian record total!
-52kg Women
My pick: Andrea ‘Andi’ Carlisle (Victoria)
With Elizabeth Craven (ACT) moving up to the -57kg class for increased competitiveness, the -52kg class is now wide open for lifters to swoop in and take a victory for what might be their first Powerlifting national championship, the first time Craven has not won a national championship in the -52kg class since 2013! I’m going for the lifter in form, Andi Carlisle following her 345kg total at The Strength Fortress Open which leaves her ranked third in the -52kg but seeded first in this event. A really tight battle looks to be on the cards between Carlisle and Canberra’s Megan Hinchley who is only 5kg behind from her best meet of the year back at Matti Tikka in April. Andi is a phenomenal bench presser being the third best bench presser on Wilks in the country, behind Craven and -63kg and -72kg national record holder, Kim Stevenson (Australian Capital Territory). On her day, her bench can be between 10kg to 15kg higher than Hinchley and with a similar deadlift (145kg for Carlisle and 147.5kg for Hinchley back in April and at World’s in June). I like Carlisle to lead on sub-total and then hold off Hinchley for the win. Hinchley can grind some incredibly impressive deadlifts though so I won’t be surprised to see an attempt for the lead on the third, see below.
Current national records
|
Squat |
156kg |
Elizabeth Craven |
|
Bench Press |
85kg |
Elizabeth Craven |
|
Deadlift |
185kg |
Elizabeth Craven |
|
Total |
424kg |
Elizabeth Craven |
Still of Carlisle pulling 145kg to seal a 345kg total and a number 3 ranking in the -52kg class.
-59kg Men
My pick: Raymond Wong (New South Wales)
I’m so glad to see the best that the -59kg class has to offer all competing for national glory! I’m picking Raymond Wong here as he is the lifter who has had the biggest total of 2017 and if focused on total victory, he is capable of so much more! Wong’s last meet was City Strength Open III where he hit a 531kg total, just 1.5kg shy of his national record total (see below).
Wong’s 531kg total, just 1.5kg below his Australian record total, going 180kg/125kg/226kg.
However, he won’t have it easy as a couple of junior lifters will be hot on his tail. Fresh after winning the junior -59kg class, Josh Luu (Victoria) is looking to keep his form going as he is not only up against Wong, but fellow junior lifter and the man he defeated by 0.5kg at junior nationals, Tony Vuong (Victoria). Luu pulled 237kg to smash the open deadlift national record having missed his opener and second attempt at 210kg and 217.5kg respectively. 237kg is just 3.5kg below the junior world record! Vuong is the current junior national record holder in squat with 189kg but a rough day on bench and deadlift left him 9.5kg short of his best total of 2017.
Vuong’s current junior national record squat with 189kg!
Luu’s open national record deadlift from junior nationals with 237kg!
Last but not least is Kevin Gray (Victoria), seeded last but is an incredibly special lifter. Gray is the current IPF world record holder in squat with 240kg! Unfortunately, he does not have a bench press or deadlift to the calibre of his squat so he isn’t competitive on total, but his squat lights up the competition from the very start and it is truly great to witness. In my opinion, he is Australia’s version of Poland’s Andrzej Stanaszek. An IPF Hall of Fame athlete who competed in the old -52kg class with a best squat of 300.5kg in equipment!
Gray’s current open world record at 240kg!
Current national records
|
Squat |
240kg |
Kevin Gray |
|
Bench Press |
130kg |
Daniel Wray |
|
Deadlift |
237kg |
Joshua Luu |
|
Total |
532.5kg |
Raymond Wong |
Session 2
-57kg Women
My pick: Elizabeth Craven (Australian Capital Territory)
The -57kg class will be simply dominated by Australia’s best ever raw lifter, Elizabeth Craven! As stated above, Liz has temporarily jumped to the -57kg class to increase competitiveness so she can increase her experience in tough meets. It’s this experience that has been letting her down at World’s so I think this is a great move! Other lifters in her class like Marisa Inda (USA) and Olga Golubeva (USA) are constantly challenged year in year out at national events which strengthens them for world meets where competitiveness doesn’t differ significantly. With no junior national and world champion Rachel Jones (New South Wales) nominated, Craven should cruise to victory!
Liz’s squat session at the 2017 Classic World Championship (-52kg) finishing with 156kg! What will she do in the -57kg class?!
The exciting part about this competition is who will win the minor medals?! Bench press national record holder and defending champion, Natalie Salm (Queensland) returns to Powerlifting following a hiatus so she will be looking to extend her bench press national record and will be competitive for silver. A best total from 2016 of 383kg is certainly competitive for silver with Liz almost certain for 420kg+. New lifter to the -57kg class in 2017 is Emma McRae (Queensland) nominated at 387.5kg which is second seed and ranking in this class. A big deadlifter with an incredibly solid bench press, McRae will pull more than Salm and can therefore be very strategic with her attempt selections. Brigot Pugh (Queensland) is the current national record holder in deadlift which will most likely be broken by Craven but unfortunately a lagging squat and bench press will mean she may not be competitive for minor medals. Giuliana Nannetti (New South Wales) attends her first open national championship as well as returning from injury nominated at 340kg from the -63kg class but has done 360kg in the -57kg class in Killeen, 2016 and 363kg in 2015 in Tashkent, if all is well we could see another lifter in the hunt for minor medals.
All in all, it should be a comfortable win for Craven and I’m picking Emma McRae second with Natalie Salm third!
Current national records
|
Squat |
153.5kg |
Rachel Jones |
|
Bench Press |
93kg |
Natalie Salm |
|
Deadlift |
180kg |
Brigot Pugh |
|
Total |
393.5kg |
Rachel Jones |
-66kg Men
My pick: Karl DiFalco (Victoria)
Karl at his recent Physique show coming third overall!
The -66kg class will crown a new national champion with defending champion Frank Zou (Queensland) not nominated, however, I’m pumped to see what my pick for the title can bring to the table, my pick is Karl Di Falco. Having only just stepped off stage in a Physique competition on October 1st, Karl will only have two weeks to prepare for this meet. He’s definitely underweight having been 64.4kg on October 2nd and looks as strong as ever when in this class. Karl’s most recent meet was the Classic World Championship in Minsk, Belarus where he achieved 11th out of 25 lifters with two lifters going over the world record total prior to the meet! This was in the -74kg class and he achieved a 652.5kg total. His best total at -66kg, however, is 605kg back in 2015 where he came second on rankings to a well-known lifter in this class, John Paul Cauchi (Victoria). His training, considering the Physique meet, has been great and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gave the squat national record a go, 226kg is very realistic having squatted 242.5kg in Minsk.
Karl with a smooth 190kg pause squat in training a few weeks ago!
New lifter to the -66kg class for nationals this year is the current -59kg national champion, Michael Barbuto (Victoria). He’s done one meet this year in the -66kg class totaling 557.5kg in July and looks to be in a really tough battle for silver with Ross Rickards (Queensland) with Rickards’ best total being 555kg in September. With Barbuto being new to the class with a lot of muscle to gain, I see a comfortable silver medal over the horizon.
Barbuto with a 140kg touch and go bench press in training recently!
Current national records
|
Squat |
225.5kg |
John Paul Cauchi |
|
Bench Press |
148.5kg |
Luke Micallef |
|
Deadlift |
282.5kg |
John Paul Cauchi |
|
Total |
627.5kg |
John Paul Cauchi |
Saturday October 14
Session 1
-63kg Women
My pick: Schae Zarew (Australian Capital Territory)
A really tough fight is at hand in the -63kg class with the number one lifter at the moment, Tara Gripton (New South Wales), up against a lifter returning from injury and current national record holder in total, Schae Zarew!
Zarew is the former junior world record holder in total with 436kg from Christchurch in 2016 and due to injury, has not competed this year. Her training has been going extremely well at the moment hitting personal bests in a variety of repetition ranges in her lifts and I would not be surprised if she surpasses her current national record total. Zarew currently coaches out of The Strength Syndicate in Canberra and will have Liz Craven in her corner and when lifters are this close, it pays to have a quality coach at the helm.
Zarew’s 160.5kg junior Oceania record squat from the 2016 Oceania Powerlifting Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Gripton, on the other hand, will be looking to dethrone Zarew and she will be very close for the entire meet! As said above, Gripton is the number 1 lifter in the -63kg class at the moment with a 412.5kg total at Power Elite not that long ago and her momentum is looking like it is still going! She recently hit a very smooth 165kg squat in training which is open national record standard. Much like Zarew, Gripton has an excellent coach by her side, Joey Zinghini (New South Wales), and as much as this is a battle between two great lifters who are only just beginning in the -63kg class, it is a battle of strategy and appropriate attempt selection.
Gripton with a 160kg squat, 77.5kg bench press and 175kg deadlift for a 412.5kg total, the best total by a -63kg lifter this year!
Current national records
|
Squat |
167.5kg |
Kelli Clarke |
|
Bench Press |
107.5kg |
Kim Stevenson |
|
Deadlift |
192.5kg |
Cass Pickard |
|
Total |
436kg |
Schae Zarew |
-74kg Men
My pick: John Paul Cauchi (Victoria)
Much like the -63kg female class, the -74kg class is always a close division, as was evident last year with ALL lifters that competed being within 40kg of each other. The winner of that meet was Gary Young (New South Wales), however with lifters either moving up or down weight classes, two lifters stand out for me, Joey Zinghini (New South Wales) and John Paul Cauchi (Victoria). The bolter is Alvin Lim (Victoria) who returns to competition from an extended trip overseas and is coming back to his peak form, form that got him the -74kg total national record in May 2016.
I’ve picked Cauchi to win here based off his form in training. He’s been hitting big numbers including a 225kg squat for 4 repetitions and a 270kg deadlift (with straps) for 5 repetitions. My main reason for picking him though is his ‘all or nothing’ attitude when championships are on the line, it’s highly risky but can have big rewards. Last year, he opened his deadlift with 257.5kg, skipped his second and attempted 305.5kg to go from last to first, that’s the type of attitude I’m talking about. Without lifters such as Young, Di Falco, Luca, Odsey and Le coming into deadlift with big sub-totals, I think Cauchi has what it takes to pull for the win. With deadlifting 270kg for 5 repetitions, his prime mover muscles seem good for 300kg, but I don’t think his grip will be. He’s missed 290kg on grip in training recently (quite hilariously as well), 287.5kg in the Pacific Invitational, 290kg in the Pro Deadlift in Sydney and 287.5kg in equipment in May (mixed grip from a bleeding thumb). If he gets his grip right, he is unstoppable. He usually misses on grip in his last attempt so his second attempt will need to spot on to push Zinghini all the way!
Joey Zinghini, on the other hand, is one of the most consistent athletes in the -74kg class. A lifter, in previous years, that was competitive at local level and somewhat competitive at national level is now one of the best -74kg lifters in the country. An accolade that has taken him all the way to Belarus in June where he competed at the 2017 Classic World Championship for 13th overall with a 650kg total. Whenever he competes, he always seems to be good for 630kg-650kg at every meet he attends. Consistency is Zinghini’s best trait as well as being a lifter that knows what he is good for to squeeze every kilogram out on sub-total. This puts him in the best possible position to place as high as possible going into deadlift.
It’s going to be so close going into final deadlifts but the last deadlifter will have the final say and that will be Cauchi.
Cauchi deadlifting 270kg for 5 in training recently.
Current national records
|
Squat |
242.5kg |
Karl Di Falco |
|
Bench Press |
172.5kg |
Gary Young |
|
Deadlift |
280kg |
John Paul Cauchi |
|
Total |
666kg |
Derek Viet |
Guest lifter: Alexey Bakhirev (Russia)
Former IPF world record holder in deadlift and total, Alexey Bakhirev will be attending the Australian Championship as a guest lifter! He is a lifter of vast experience at national and international level, Bakhirev was highly competitive on the international scene before the enormous deadlifters of Harry Shimalistos (South Africa), Hassan El-Belghitti (France), Doni Meiyanto (Indonesia) and now Kjell Bakkelund (Norway) have exploded the world record out to Bakkelund's current record, 322kg. To my knowledge, Bakhirev's best deadlift in a meet is 296kg done at the Arnold Sports Festival in the USA for a 701kg WR total back in 2014.
The Russian records listed do not count Bakhirev's lifts from the Arnold's as national records so I'm assuming any number that he does in Melbourne will not count either. However, I assume the standards that Bakhirev will be trying to beat are (at least) a 243kg squat (held by recent Russian convert from Ukraine, Anatolii Goriachok), a 183kg bench press (held by Stanislav Volsky), a 292.5kg deadlift (held by Goriachok from Minsk this year) and a 692.5kg total (also held by Goriachok from Minsk this year). I believe that he has never pulled 300kg either so it will be a big moment for him to finally lift the magic number successfully!
Do not miss this veteran of the platform lift in Australia for the first time!
NB: For those interested, the Russian national records can be found here. Just take a look at the raw bench press national records, some are 15kg over the open world record.
Session 2
-72kg Women
My pick: Kelli Clarke (New South Wales)
A fantastic -72kg competition looks to be on the cards here as Australia’s top 3 -72kg lifters (minus number 2 ranked, Kristy-Lee Swadling, New South Wales) will be competing in what looks to be a very tight battle for the minor medals, gold looks wrapped up however by Kelli Clarke! Recently competing at Power Elite, Kelli dominated the competition with a 470kg total (not a record due to a lack of three national referees present), adding 7.5kg to her best ever total. I don't see anyone getting close to Clarke here lets delve into the battle for minor medals.
Many lifters with international experience will highlight the battle for minor medals including two lifters that attended the World Championships in Minsk this year, Marlena Gabriel (New South Wales) and Jessica Saywell (New South Wales). Saywell out-totaled Gabriel by 20kg at this event (410kg to 390kg, respectively) and I see a similar occurrence happening here. A constant improver is Megan Reed (Victoria) most recently competing at the Junior Australian Championships where she totaled 412.5kg. Two late additions to the group are Queenslanders, Raissa Vogler and Jacqueline Feher. This will be Vogler's first Australian Championships while this is Feher's first in the -72kg class after achieving silver in the -84kg in 2016! Vogler comes in with a 397.5kg nomination while Feher is at an even 400kg from her first ever meet in this class back in April. I see Saywell and Reed challenging for silver while the remaining three will be battling for bronze but anything can (and does) happen in Powerlifting so we will see!
It's all about Kelli Clarke though, this is her most recent meet going 172.5kg/90kg/207.5kg for a 470kg total in the -72kg class, she looks unstoppable at the moment!
Current national records
|
Squat |
170kg |
Kelli Clarke |
|
Bench Press |
105kg |
Kim Stevenson |
|
Deadlift |
205kg |
Kelli Clarke |
|
Total |
462.5kg |
Kelli Clarke |
-83kg Men
My pick: Nathan Tanis (Victoria)
Quite simply the -83kg will be dominated by Nathan Tanis, a lifter of constant improvement over the years and has become the best Australian male of 2017 following his performance at the 2017 junior national championship! Tanis totaled 747.5kg at junior nationals completely unchallenged and I think the same degree of competition will happen in Melbourne once again. His 290kg squat is just 8kg below the open and junior world record held by John Haack (USA) and I will not be surprised if he attempts to surpass it at the biggest stage in Australian Powerlifting, he described the 290kg on his Instagram as a ‘conservative third attempt’. His 160kg bench press and 297.5kg deadlift were conservative as well and I won’t be surprised if he surpasses Cameron McKenzie’s best ever male Wilks coefficient of 510.6 points.
Tanis’ ‘conservative’ 290kg third attempt in August at 2017 Junior Nationals!
The battle for minor medals looks juicy. I don’t think Francis Ferriols (Victoria) will be competing, however, Victoria’s Kevin Bui, Queensland’s Jake Roberts, Victoria’s Adam Jones and New South Welshman Gary Young and Mathew Tinson are all in the hunt! Young is only new to the -83kg class competitively so I don’t expect a run to the total victory (even though he is the current -74kg national champion, shows you how competitive these classes are now). I do like Jake Roberts for second following his 685kg nominated total back in April(!) so he could be good for 700kg by now. Adam Jones and Kevin Bui are big deadlifters and will need a big sub-total to pull for a medal. Jones recently totalled 662.5kg in Belarus while Bui recently totalled 662.5kg as well at junior nationals including a junior national record deadlift at 310kg. No doubt he will be hunting that open national record currently at 317.5kg! Tinson is competing at his first nationals and can definitely be in the top 3 if lifts go his way, nominated at 670kg is a solid total to build upon.
Kevin Bui’s deadlift session from the 2017 Junior National Championships in August finishing at the now junior national deadlift record, 310kg!
In my opinion, Tanis to win easily with Roberts second and Bui third!
Current national records
|
Squat |
290kg |
Nathan Tanis |
|
Bench Press |
200kg |
Caleb Voice |
|
Deadlift |
317.5kg |
Amir Fazeli |
|
Total |
747.5kg |
Nathan Tanis |
Sunday October 15
Session 1
-93kg Men
My pick: Cale Rowston (New South Wales)
As like last year the -93kg class is a stacked class with almost the entire field capable of taking the gold. The defending champion is Colin Webb (Queensland) following a 738.5kg total including a 281kg national record squat! Webb is nominated again this year with the total record holder William Phillips (Queensland), however, I’m picking a lifter who has been capable of the total record for a while and is competing at his first nationals, Cale Rowston (New South Wales)! This is Rowston’s first meet since he attended the Classic World Championships in June and earned a very respectable 9th place including a bronze medal on deadlift! It is the first time he will be competing in a meet against other people of equal calibre and knowing that the championship is on the line, I think he will flourish!
He will flourish, but will be challenged by a variety of lifters all over the country, mainly dominated by Queensland. Colin Webb is looking really strong following an all-time PB double on squat with 260kg recently and looks to be in the best form he has ever been in. An intelligent lifter of vast experience at national and world level, you can never count out Webb on victory! Another Queenslander, Will Phillips, is always a threat to anyone capable of winning the title. Phillips' 750kg total national record came from World’s in 2016 but is yet to replicate that form at a national level as he gets called on technical issues, especially on deadlift. If those issues are cleaned up, he is almost unstoppable.
I think the remaining lifters that could push for a minor medal or even the championship if results go their way are Amir Fazeli (New South Wales) and Hung Phan (Victoria). Fazeli is quite new in the -93kg class with his best deadlift equal to the current -93kg national record but was done in the -83kg class! Amir should be the biggest deadlifter so we may see a huge third attempt for the win. Phan is a bolter in my opinion, quiet on social media, an intelligent lifter with an intelligent coach, Andrew Tang, as well as being super strong. Phan once held the open deadlift national record at 316kg and with solid squat and bench press, he could challenge for the title as well!
However considering Rowston’s sub-total going into his strongest event, I think he will be able to hold off the likes of Phillips, Phan, Fazeli and Webb. It’s too close to call for minor medals, but this is certainly the event not to be missed at the expo!
Rowston’s pet event, the deadlift. This is Rowston extending his Australian record deadlift to 317.5kg for bronze in deadlift at the recent Classic World Championship!
Current national records
|
Squat |
281kg |
Colin Webb |
|
Bench Press |
227.5kg |
Caleb Voice |
|
Deadlift |
317.5kg |
Cale Rowston |
|
Total |
750kg |
William Phillips |
-84kg Women
My pick: Yan-Fei Zhao (Victoria)
The best -84kg lifters in Australia will be on show here with former junior world champion, Yan-Fei Zhao battling current sub-junior world champion Bethany Parker (New South Wales) and open national record holder in deadlift (as a junior), Taylah Robinson (New South Wales)! This flight also includes Australia’s second nominee to the recent World Championships in this class, Einasleigh Doughty (New South Wales) who will be about 40kg-50kg behind which shows how competitive this class is!
I’m picking Zhao based on her competitiveness on all 3 lifts, Zhao’s 202.5kg national record is 4kg off the open world record squat held by 19-year-old American Daniella Melo. Her bench is coming together nicely hitting 105kg in Minsk and 110kg at 87.6kg back in April at the Sydney Pacific Invitational. Her deadlift is getting better and better as evident when she broke the open national deadlift record with 210kg in Sydney. She is always up there in every lift and this makes her unstoppable on total.
The battle for silver between Robinson and Parker is going to be epic with Parker recovering from injury after she extended her sub-junior world record total with 485kg at the Pacific Invitational in Sydney and she looks good to total close to 500kg or at least extend her sub-junior national record total. Robinson is a bigger deadlifter than Parker, and at a few points was the biggest deadlifter in Australian history, so she will know exactly how much weight to put on to take the silver!
Zhao’s final deadlift attempt at 207.5kg for 4th overall in an extremely tough open -84kg category!
Current national records
|
Squat |
202.5kg |
Yan-Fei Zhao |
|
Bench Press |
112.5kg |
Bethany Parker |
|
Deadlift |
210.5kg |
Taylah Robinson |
|
Total |
507.5kg |
Yan-Fei Zhao |
-105kg Men
My pick: Florian Loock (New South Wales)
The current national record holder in bench press and total, Florian Loock returns to the raw national scene in his competitive class to chase down the 800kg total! After getting back into equipment recently for the first time in 6 years, Florian is back competing raw at yet another Australian championship and I don't see him being challenged immensely for total gold. Loock's best event is bench press having held the open world record at 223.5kg before it was chipped by Garrett Blevins (USA) at the 2017 Arnold Sports Festival. However, a solid deadlift and a decent squat makes him almost unstoppable on total! His best total of 786kg came from the Perth Fitness Expo where he had the meet of his life, also breaking the open bench press world record. This year, his best total is 760kg which is still 32.5kg ahead of McEwen and will be even further from Jame who has not competed in 2017.
Loock hits a 317.5kg equipped squat at the recent Power Elite meet. He also bench pressed 255kg to make him the best equipped bench presser in the country and pulled 280kg!
The battle for silver comes down to Jesse McEwen (Queensland) and David Jame (Victoria). McEwen is slowly coming back from injury and looks to be in the form of his life! McEwen usually trains by himself in commercial gyms or at his house but he is now heading over to Rowston Conditioning (owned by Cale Rowston) and that environment seems to have been extremely beneficial. McEwen is a former open national record holder in squat and if it wasn’t for Steven Tyrell (Queensland) last year, he would have been in a great position to extend it, I think that 300kg may be a bit of a stretch for him.
Jame is one of the head coaches at Melbourne University Powerlifting and Weightlifting Club and also teaches the Level 1 Powerlifting Coaching course. He has not competed in a while but according to his training, he currently is in the best of his life as well hitting bench press and deadlift PB’s according to his Facebook page ‘Strength Coaching Australia’. Before McEwen, Jame held the squat national record peaking at 272.5kg but a lagging bench press means his competitiveness on total has always been tough.
The last nomination comes from Melbourne, coach at Obsidian Strength, Kenny Lay. Lay will not be competitive on total, however he has a huge deadlift on him and I see potential for an attempt at the open national record, currently at 320.5kg. Capable of around 310kg in training, he will have nothing to lose and everything to gain so I see a record attempt coming for the final lift of this session.
Loock will remain quite unchallenged though and he should cruise to victory!
Current national records
|
Squat |
300kg |
Steven Tyrell |
|
Bench Press |
223.5kg |
Florian Loock |
|
Deadlift |
320.5kg |
Chris Thomas |
|
Total |
786kg |
Florian Loock |
Session 2
-120kg Men
My pick: Cameron McKenzie (New South Wales)
One lifter dominates the -120kg class and that is Cameron McKenzie! His 888kg total at 119.95kg bodyweight in Christchurch produced the highest raw Wilks coefficient in Australian history at 510.6. Last year he was in the super heavyweight category (126.8kg) and came second to Tyron Senituli (Queensland), however, he became the first male lifter in Australian history to accumulate 500 Wilks points, the only other lifter to do that since has been Nathan Tanis in the -83kg class. McKenzie’s training has been rock solid and he looks to be good to at least extend his total record and he should be in the best position possible to do so as I don’t see any other lifter close to him.
The remaining field has -105kg national record holder in squat, Steven Tyrell (Queensland), moves up to this class and after his 300kg squat last year in the -105kg class, we may see an attempt at McKenzie’s squat national record depending on his progress. Former total record holder in the -105kg class, Richard Hozjan (New South Wales), looks to have jumped to the -120kg class permanently and will definitely chase the national bench press record held by Victoria’s Sane Faatoe. Hozjan is also a great deadlifter which made him a force in the -105kg class however due to McKenzie’s dominance, he probably won’t win, but will definitely be competitive for minor medals. Rob Murrell (Western Australia) is recovering from a bicep tear during a deadlift and this will be his second competition back. Murrell was Australia’s third best -120kg lifter in 2016 with a 767.5kg total! Graham McDonald (Queensland) is also in the hunt with a best total of 760kg in 2016 but is currently at 722.5kg in 2017. McDonald is a M1 lifter so he will be looking to break the M1 deadlift national record held by Australian great, Stephen Pritchard (Victoria). Finally, Nick McManus (Queensland) will be attending his first nationals following a 720kg total at the Sydney Open at the Sydney Fitness Show and Thanh Nguyen (Victoria) who has an enormous squat and deadlift will certainly light up the competition with his aggressive style!
McKenzie has it comfortably but the battle for minor medals will certainly be interesting viewing!
McKenzie’s most recent meet all the back in March in North Queensland, 38kg below his best total however 8 months of solid training will lead to massive improvement!
Current national records
|
Squat |
325kg |
Cameron McKenzie |
|
Bench Press |
230kg |
Sane Faatoe |
|
Deadlift |
363kg |
Cameron McKenzie |
|
Total |
888kg |
Cameron McKenzie |
84kg+ Women
My pick: Najat Khoury (New South Wales)
The final female class sees the lifter with the highest total in Australian history, Najat Khoury (New South Wales) up against the owner of the biggest deadlift in Australian history, Noelene Kingi (Victoria). I expect a comfortable victory for Khoury here given she is the current total national record holder and will kick off the event with an enormous squat which is her best discipline. Her 233kg squat back in November 2016 is still the open national record! She was unable to extend it this year due to a broken foot, however, she has successfully recovered and looks better than ever going by recent training footage. Khoury has a big bench as well and could challenge for the almost untouchable bench press record held by Tiarne Augustine (Queensland). Her nearest rival, Kingi, has seemed to come out of nowhere from Melbourne University under Robert Wilks! A New Zealand native, Kingi has had two super heavyweight deadlift national records and her current record at 211kg is the biggest deadlift by an Australian female. Khoury and Kingi are both great deadlifters so we may see more than one lifter attempting the record. The remaining lifter is sub-junior lifter, Brea de Jonge (New South Wales). de Jonge attended her first world championship this year in Minsk for a fantastic second place overall! Although she won’t challenge for silver or gold here, she definitely can have a crack at increasing her sub-junior national records!
Khoury’s most recent performance way back in November 2016. This 233kg squat is still the national record!
Current national records
|
Squat |
233kg |
Najat Khory |
|
Bench Press |
115kg |
Tiarne Augustine |
|
Deadlift |
211kg |
Noelene Kingi |
|
Total |
546.5kg |
Najat Khoury |
120kg+ Men
My pick: Tyron Senituli (Queensland)
The final session at these championships will showcase many lifters all capable of breaking national record total at some point in their lifting career. Two lifters are making their open national championship debuts, Anthony Krznar (Victoria) and Iveni Tuitupou (Australian Capital Territory). Both lifters have totalled 860kg this year with Krznar being 15kg lighter in bodyweight so he is ranked higher. Tuitupou has a big sub-total but struggles with grip on deadlift while Krznar has a decent deadlift but lags slightly in bench press. Scott Hall (New South Wales) returns to the national scene with an 835kg total nomination, 10kg below his best performance in 2016 so he will be looking to improve his ranking, ideally close to the 850kg-860kg mark.
However the battle for gold will go down between the lifter who has the biggest total ever in Australian history, versus the man with the biggest raw squat in Australian history, it’s Tyron Senituli (Queensland) versus Tony Reinmuth (Victoria)! This battle will replicate what happened at the Classic World Championshp in Minsk this year with Senituli totaling 890kg and Reinmuth totaling 887.5kg! I see many battles ahead for these two and as a Powerlifting fan, I love seeing it! Senituli is the second best lifter of all lifters in Australia behind Nathan Tanis this year. He is a jack of all trades but his specialty is bench press. His best bench in Minsk was 232.5kg, just 3kg below the national record held by Sane Faatoe which is currently the largest raw bench press in Australian history. I will not be surprised if we see an attempt at it here before he seals the deal in deadlift for what is hopefully, the first 900kg total in Australian history. Tony Reinmuth will be hot on his tail though, just 2.5kg behind at World’s, he will need an almost perfect showing to take down Senituli. Reinmuth is already 20kg up from his best total in 2016 and is 25kg up from his best squat from 2016 nationals. Momentum is building for Reinmuth and I for one am keen to see what he brings to the table!
One missed lift could be the difference between gold and silver here and what a way to finish such an awesome weekend!
Senituli locking out a 332.5kg deadlift for the largest raw total in Powerlifting Australia history, 890kg!
Current national records
|
Squat |
355kg |
Tony Reinmuth |
|
Bench Press |
235.5kg |
Sane Faatoe |
|
Deadlift |
360kg |
Cameron McKenzie |
|
Total |
890kg |
Tyron Senituli |
There we have it! The Australian Powerlifting Championship is not far away for another year and I can’t wait to see what the best Powerlifters in Australia have to offer! I will be there on Thursday night for competition start on Friday and will be leaving Sunday night! I’ve been doing lots of announcing at the moment so hopefully, I get to do a little bit before I go to Brisbane the following weekend for the Brisbane Invitational featuring Jezza Uepa (Nauru)!
Until next time, train hard, train smart and dominate on the platform.
Tim Davies – Team PB Powerlifting
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Email – t.davies@hotmail.com.au