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Greater London Powerlifting Championships

A cold November day saw a creditable turnout of British Barbell members for the Greater London Powerlifting Championships. Along with nine competitors, the club brought several supporters and provided all three referees in Andy Ly, Ola Oyefeso and Rebecca Yeoh. Special thanks must go to Rebecca and to Ben Banks – to Rebecca for volunteering on her birthday and to silver-tongued devil Ben for persuading her that there is no better way to mark another year than by spending it holding up red and white sticks for six-and-a-half hours.
All nine British Barbell lifters competed in the Unequipped category.
67.5kg Class
U16 lifter, Ryan Harrison, was the first to hit the stage. He completed a 60kg squat with ease to get the day off to a good start. Taking part in his first competition, Ryan showed admirable calm in maintaining good form and remembering everything that he has been working on over recent months. He followed up with 67.5kg and rounded things off with 75kg.
Moving over to the bench press, Ryan again made sure and steady progress. He began with an effort of 40kg, moved up to 45kg and finished with 50kg to record six successful lifts in a row.
The deadlift also went well for Ryan, whose long arms and solid technique make him suited to the event. A comfortable first pull of 70kg encouraged him to try for 80kg on his second lift. He didn’t quite make it, but came out and nailed it on his third and final attempt. This left Ryan with an overall total of 205kg and third place in his weight class.
Peter John Barrett is an M3 lifter, but he performed well for a man half his age. Exhibiting outstanding leg strength, he posted determined lifts of 90kg, 100kg and 107.5kg in the squat, and demonstrated the potential to lift considerably more.
Peter opened with a 70kg bench press, before missing out on 75kg and passing on his third effort. Well-refreshed for the deadlift, he once again wowed the crowd, with pulls of 140kg, 155kg and 165kg for a total of 342.5 and second place.
75kg Class
U16 lifter, Charlie Holt, was taking part in his fifth competition, after competing for the first time at this same competition last year. Opening with an exceptional 120kg in the squat, Charlie moved on to 131kg and finished on a superb 142.5kg, to break the U16 British record.
Charlie then bench pressed 75kg and 82.5kg, before missing out on 90kg. In the deadlift, Charlie utilised outstanding technique and not a little strength to grind out lifts of 140kg, 155kg and 165kg. He finished with a total of 390kg and 3rd in the class.

A British record is always something to be proud of, and Charlie can be pleased with a job very well done.
90kg Class
Brian Ling, an M1 lifter, made all three squats - with lifts of 130kg, 145kg and 152.5kg. He maintained this consistency on the bench press, with 80kg, 85kg and 90kg. Brian started the deadlift with 150kg before failing on 165kg, a weight he managed in the last round. 407.5kg gave him 6th place.
U20 powerlifter, Louis Cox-Brusseau, showed excellent form in the squat. Opening with 155kg, he posted 170kg on his second attempt, on his way to a double-weight third lift of 180kg.
95kg was on the bar for Louis’s first bench press, and he handled it comfortably, before making 102.5kg and 107.5kg. A conservative opener in the deadlift of 135kg was improved upon significantly, with 150kg being followed by 165kg. Another full house of successful lifts left Louis with 452.5kg and 4th place.
100kg Class
Tim Barrett kicked off with a 155kg squat, and then sank 165kg. 175kg proved to be just too much on the day. He got three good lifts on the bench press, with 87kg, 95kg and 102.5kg. Tim also pulled well, starting with a 160kg deadlift, before recording lifts of 175kg and then 185kg. This left a grand total of 452.5kg for 4th place.
Tom Ellingham flattered to deceive with his opening squat of 150kg. A solid second effort of 165kg encouraged him to add 30kg to his first lift, and Tom finished with a fine squat of 180kg. Three good bench presses of 105kg, 115kg and 120kg set him up for the deadlift. Tom went up in increments of 20kg – opening with 170kg, then pulling 190kg before missing out on 210kg. A total of 490kg gave him 3rd place.
U20 Freddie Maguire-King is a Philosophy student, and so lives with the knowledge that any article detailing his powerlifting triumphs is likely to make the crass observation that he combines brains with brawn. Undeterred, he showed very good form in the squat, hoisting 155kg, 170kg and 180kg. He then benched 110kg, 122.5kg and 130kg, before three good pulls of 170kg, 190kg and 220kg in the deadlift.
Nine out of nine lifts left him with 530kg and 2nd place. Looking on from another realm, Friedrich Nietzsche gazed upon Übermensch Freddie and smiled.
110kg Class
Having debuted in competitive powerlifting at the All England Unequipped Championships in August, Oliver Driver was raring to go at the Greater London. He opened with 140kg on the squat, steadily working his way through 155kg and on to 165kg. He smoked 112.5kg on the bench and then made 122.5kg, before just missing out on 130kg.
He deadlifted well, with three successful efforts at 180kg, 200kg and 220kg (twice his bodyweight). A 507.5kg total showed good progress following on from 470kg at the All England, and Ollie came 2nd.
There were some very impressive lifters from other clubs too. Guest lifter Sarah King totalled an outstanding 377.5kg at 67.5kg (including a fabulous deadlift of 160kg), while M1 lifter Rodney Hypolite stunned the audience with 230kg in the squat and a monster deadlift of 260kg for a total of 650kg at 75kg. In the Equipped category Rob Palmer totalled 855kg at 85kg, including the best squat of the day – by some distance – at 320kg.
Bethnal Green Weightlifting Club did a very good job of hosting the event and making everyone welcome. Gary Bellinger promoted the competition, and Bethnal Green members spotted ably, led by Commonwealth Superheavyweight Weightlifting champion Giles Greenwood, and three times World Powerlifting Champion, Tony Stevens.

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