Heavy haul
Island lifters win 15 firsts at Eastern Canadian championships in Summerside
P.E.I. lifters earned 15 weight class titles on home turf at the recent Canadian Powerlifting Union Eastern Canadian powerlifting and bench press championships in Summerside.
P.E.I. lifters earned 15 weight class titles on home turf at the recent Canadian Powerlifting Union Eastern Canadian powerlifting and bench press championships in Summerside. Summerside’s Tilman Gallant, lifting in Master 4 93 kg, set a new unofficial world record in the bench press with a 145-kilogram effort and won the powerlifting portion with a total lift of 430 kg tallied from his 130 kg, 140 kg and 160 kg results in squat, bench and deadlift, respectively. Tyson Veniot also captured two titles, winning the junior 59 kg bench press (85 kg) and powerlifting (squat 102.5 kg, bench 80 kg, deadlift 152.5 kg, total 335 kg) events.
Island winners
Other Island powerlifting winners include Caitlin McKenna (sub-junior 63 kg), Karley Affleck (junior 57 kg), Breanne Burgoyne (junior 63 kg), Jill MacFarlane (Master 1 52 kg), Logan Vessey (junior 105 kg), Cameron Gordon (Special Olympics 83 kg) and Allen Profitt (Master 3 120 kg). Bench press titles went to Kara Arsenault (Master 1 84-Plus kg), Marian Johnston (Master 3 57 kg), Caleb Boreland (sub-junior 83 kg) and Hunter Ellis (Special Olympics 83 kg). Best lifter awards went to Ontario’s Sangeetha Jeyabalasingam (junior female), Nicholas Hayward and Michelle Harwood from Newfoundland and Labrador in junior male and master female, respectively, Nova Scotia’s Shiek Ali (master male) and Jessica McNutt (female bench), Tasnim Banuga of Manitoba in open female and New Brunswick’s Chris Sharpe (open male) and RJ Forbes (male bench). Over 100 lifters from six provinces competed at the event.
The coming season holds special significance for some P.E.I. speedskaters with the Canada Games only five months away. The season begins later this month, and several Islanders could lace up the skates for Team P.E.I. at the Games slated for Feb. 13 to March 3 in Red Deer, Alta. P.E.I. coach Sarah Taylor said the group has been training and preparing for months for the chance to represent the province. “The time and dedication it takes to be competitive at this level is significant,” said Taylor, who’ll coach the short-track contingent in Red Deer. “These young athletes are learning about commitment, discipline and time management, all of which will serve them well throughout their lives (and) not only in sport.” In February, P.E.I. fields male and female short-track and longtrack teams at the Games for the first time. P.E.I. has sent female and male short-track squads to the Games since 1995, but it only entered male long track teams in 1995 and 2007. Carolyn Jarock is the long-track coach. For Andrew Jack, Speed Skate P.E.I. vice-president, the full slate of skaters in both disciplines shows real progress and opens the door to more. “With the 2023 Canada Winter Games expected to be held on P.E.I., this chance to showcase long track as another opportunity for young P.E.I. skaters is exciting for us,” said Jack. “We think we’ve got a lot of potential for further growth in our sport here over the next few years leading up to 2023.” Speed Skate P.E.I. is taking registrations for its Charlottetown programs, including Learn to Skate and Learn to Speed Skate, at www.speedskatepei.com.