Following on from the IPF Open Worlds in Malta this years IPF World Classic Sub Junior and Junior Powerlifting Championships head to Romania, taking place from August 24 till the 3rd of September. Representing Australia we have 7 athletes — three Sub Juniors and four Juniors — making the journey to compete against over 450 lifters from around the world. Read on to discover more about these younger athletes and we hope they have a great experience over in Romania.
Tiggy Sadler-Barker (Sub Junior) -76kg
One of the two women representing Australia for the Sub Juniors we have Tiggy Sadler-Barker. Over the last two years of competing Tiggy has made great progress adding almost 100kg on her total since 2021. Tiggy may still be a Sub-Junior but since joining the sport she has set multiple state and national records as well as achieving a gold medal in bench and a silver for deadlift at last year's Commonwealth Championships. Tiggy has set herself multiple goals for Worlds and we can't wait to see her follow through. We wish her the best of luck in every attempt and hope she goes out there and is the strongest version of herself.
“I feel incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to compete at worlds this year and am so grateful for the support system I have at home. I’m so excited for worlds & can’t wait to get onto the platform & meet other strong people during the competition! Thank you city strength for sponsoring us & everyone at home who’ve supported me along the way :)”
Shelby Dahler (Sub Junior) 84+kg
Shelby Dahler has been around the sport of powerlifting for the last 4 years starting out in GPC in 2019 before moving across to the APU the following year. Last year's nationals were a turning point in Shelby’s training, after winning her weight class with a qualifying total good enough to go to Worlds she has become more involved with her training. So far in Shelby's time as a Sub Junior, she has set National records and has brought home a gold medal in bench and silver in deadlift at last year's Commonwealth Championships. Her goals for Worlds are more of the same, from winning medals to rebreaking her National records and we hope to see her achieve this undertaking.
"I just want to go there (Romania), have some fun, meet some new people and lift something heavy"
Zayd Ghanawi (Sub Junior) -93kg
The last of the Sub Juniors attending the IPF World Championships for Australia is Zayd Ghanawi. Zayd is brand new to competing with 2022 marking his first year and already he has qualified for Worlds and will be joining the Australian team in Romania. Zayd’s post-Nationals training was quite interesting as he has been rehabbing a pec injury that has left him training one-armed for part of his prep. With this dedication, it will be interesting to see how this experience shapes Zayd’s lifting over the coming years. He has set his goal for Worlds to just enjoy the moment and we wish him the best of luck when he steps on the platform.
Thuy Vy Pham (Junior) -57kg
Moving over to the Juniors we have Thuy Vy Pham representing Australia in the under 57kg class. Aside from being a registered nurse, Thuy joined the powerlifting sport in 2021 since then she has gone on to set records and win championships. Her list of achievements includes setting state records in squat, deadlift, and total, national records in deadlift, and total and being the 2022 National and Commonwealth Champion. It is amazing to accomplish so much so quickly and Thuy seems to know this is just the beginning of her journey. Her goal going into this year's Worlds is simply to have a good competition day experience and have fun on the world stage which we are sure she will.
Leanne Jackson (Junior) -76kg
This year marks Leanne Jackson’s fourth year competing in powerlifting, over that time Leanne has made an impressive jump on her total starting at under 300kg to now 450kg in her most recent competition. Her most recent National performance was a continuation of the upward trend Lenanne has had over four years, while she not only earnt her place at Worlds she also came away from the competition setting a new Bench record at 117.5kg. Since Nationals Leanne has been putting in the work, we have already seen her top her previous squat and now we are waiting to see what she can do with her first Worlds appearance. Good luck with this experience Leanne!
Ewan Belgrove (Junior) -83kg
This year's Worlds marks the third appearance on the International stage for Ewan Belgrove in his seven years of competing. Over his years of competition, Ewan has become arguably one of the strongest Australians in his weight class regardless of age. He has had some impressive achievements including setting the Sub Jr. World Record for Squats in 2018. If Ewan’s recent training is any indication we should see big things come from him, recent training highlights have seen him put up huge numbers including a 320kg squat and we hope to see big things from him come competition day. For the 2023 Worlds, Ewan is going in with the goal of breaking the Junior World Record for the squat and will possibly have a crack at the Open World Record. We can't wait to see how this goes and wish Ewan the best of luck.
“Just happy to be back competing internationally for Australia. Looking forward to being back on the international platform and getting to make some new mates who I will get to compete with.”
Matthew Foley-Lewis (Junior) -105kg
Last but not least we have Matthew Foley-Lewis representing Australia in the under 105kg class. Matthew’s powerlifting career has all happened relatively quickly, after getting into competing two years ago he attended his first-ever Nationals last year and came away with the win for his class. Since then Matthew has been putting in the work not only in the gym but also in the kitchen trying to put on weight as he was sub 100kg body weight at Nationals. His goal heading to Worlds is simply to break the 800kg total mark and we hope that hard work pays off and he can achieve this undertaking.
You can watch all of the action on the International Powerlifting Federation YouTube and Facebook pages.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@powerliftingtv/streams
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/powerlifting.ipf/